Nessebur chief architect and project consultant face large fines over dunes project
The chief architect of the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Nessebur has been told to pay two fines of 5000 leva (about 2500 euro) each for his role in the residential development project in a seaside conservation dune area, while a consultant on the project is to be fined 50 000 leva.
This was announced on January 15 2013 by Bulgaria’s Regional Development and Public Works Ministry.
Bulgaria’s authorities suspended the project after conservation organisations said that the development was in a protected area. An initial joint investigation by a number of government departments led to two senior officials being dismissed, including the head of Bulgaria’s Forestry Agency.
The Regional Development and Public Works Ministry said that it had found that the construction had not deviated from the approved plans, but the plans themselves were approved in violation of the environmental impact assessment.
On January 15, Agriculture and Food Minister Miroslav Naidenov told a news conference that a check on the administrative procedure for the sale of the land intended for the development had found no procedural irregularities but the presence of dunes was not reflected in the documents. There were some suspicions about the evaluation carried out in 2007 by the Bourgas office of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water.
Naidenov has asked prosecutors to investigate all deeds regarding land use and sale involving state forest areas since 2003.
Meanwhile, the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry said on January 15 that it had withdrawn another building permit in Nessebur. Proper procedures had not been followed and there were inadequacies in explanations as to how the planned residential building would connect to the water supply and sewerage network.
* In a spinoff drama, Naidenov said that he would take court action against opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Sergei Stanishev for slander. Naidenov had referred to Stanishev’s girlfriend in relation to a property acquisition in the area adjoining the banks of the Kamchiya river on the Black Sea coast. On a Sunday television talk show, Stanishev said that Naidenov was a “well-known liar”.
(Photo: own grandmother)
