The Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović, even several days since the publication of the UNESCO mission’s report that deals with the issue of the highway construction in Tara riverbed, has not seen fit to respond and present to the public his views of discouraging assessments from the report.
Part of the answer to the question “Where is Pavle Radulović?” may lie in the fact that UNESCO’s report refuted several of his statements regarding the situation on the Tara River. We remind that the conclusion of the mission that stayed in Montenegro at the end of last year and visited the construction site of the highway near Mateševo is that the construction of bridges over Tara and the exploitation and disposal of gravel and sand seriously devastated the Tara riverbed, which is protected in this part by the programme “Man and Biosphere”.
Minister Radulović has repeatedly argued that there is nothing unusual going on Tara, that works in the “transition zone of the river” are underway and that report the UNESCO mission will be positive. Thus, speaking at a press conference in November last year, he said that he had talked with the mission participants and “saw their reaction on the spot”, insinuating that it was positive. Nevertheless, the mission’s report states that during the visit of the Tara River near the construction of the highway, it was evident that the area is covered with garbage and construction material, even outside the construction site.
On the other hand, he claimed that Tara was not devastated and that disposal of heavy waste and drilling of construction machinery into the river bed had no effect on the downstream state of Tara. UNESCO refuted this statement by the Minister, stating that it is urgent to make an estimate whether the extraction of gravel and waste disposal has an impact on the river downstream.
Additionally, Radulović continually claimed that the entire devastated area around the Tara River will be rehabilitated after the completion of the construction of the highway. Nevertheless, UNESCO states in its report that it is clear that some of the consequences of the works will be visible even after the completion of the construction.
Although the Minister was convincing the public that all institutions were doing their job and that works were repeatedly suspended due to non-compliance with environmental regulations, UNESCO noted that the monitoring of environmental impacts by the authorities is not adequate, and that the results of the monitoring of works are not communicated within a reasonable deadline to the contractor and supervising authority – thereby missing the opportunity to avoid the negative impact of the construction of the highway.
Finally, in one of the appearances, Radulović said that the mission members praised the attitude of the authorities towards the downstream part of the river, which is under double international protection. However, the report published a few days ago contains clear recommendations on the necessity of making an impact assessment of the work on the downstream part of the river, as well as the urgent adoption of a plan that would mitigate all negative impacts.
Montenegrin public deserves the answers from Minister Radulović, who we remind on this occasion that the citizens are paying him to, along with his Ministry, take care of the environment as well. UNESCO noted all the things that NGOs warned for months, that works on the construction of the highway have caused the devastation of the banks and the riverbed of the Tara River.
During all this time, Minister Radulović refused to take any responsibility with indignation, while accusing the media and NGO sector of “raising dust” due to the mission’s arrival. Now, when it is clear who was right, the public rightfully expects liability of the Minister Radulović.
MANS
