(Podgorica, 19 April 2011) – Today MANS and Green Home submitted to the Chief State Prosecutor criminal charges against Transpetrol and its executive director Slavko Kračković. The charges relate to allegations that LLC “Transpetrol” Podgorica, from Mahala in the municipality of Golubovci, was disposing of communal waste mixed with construction materials, which it then covered up with a layer of sand and gravel. These actions were in direct violation of Article 303 and Article 307 of the Criminal Code (which relate to pollution and the destruction of the natural environment).
In late-March, LLC Transpetrol Podgorica, was found to be disposing of waste alongside gravel near the village of Mahala, in close proximity to the Morača river. According to information obtained through the media, the waste was moved from its existing location, following an environmental inspection, and misdemeanor charges were filed against Transpetrol company officials.
Regardless of these measures, the origins of the waste that Transpetrol was dumping remains unknown. Furthermore, the basis for the contract that made it possible for such enormous amounts of garbage being dumped at a location not designated for such use also remains a mystery.
For this reason, we believe that the Chief State Prosecutor should pursue further investigations into this matter, to establish whether we are dealing with an isolated case, or a well organized waste-disposal campaign with direct consequences for the environment and the health of people living in the vicinity of such illegal dumps.
The Prosecutor’s Office should pay particular attention to the fact that Transpetrol attempted to conceal the dumping of waste by burying it under gravel; increasing the suspicion that similar dumps are to be found at other, as yet undiscovered, locations.
We believe that only the people from Transpetrol can answer these and similar questions. This explains why we submitted a request for the Prosecutor’s Office to arrange for hearings with the company’s owner during the investigative proceedings.
The unacceptably arrogant and irresponsible attitude of such individuals towards our environment, alongside the lack of a timely response by the local communal police, clearly points to the fact that the protection of the environment is being treated improperly by local municipal authorities and business enterprises.
For these reasons, MANS and Green Home are insisting that these actions be thoroughly investigated in order to end the obviously established practice of illegal waste disposal around the Morača River and Lake Skadar.
We hereby also invite any citizen that has information on similar incidents in their own communities, or about companies engaged in the illegal disposal of waste, to contact MANS or Green Home in order to contribute to the protection of the environment.
Ines Mrdović
Programme assistant for sustainable development
