After another tragic flood, this time in the resort complex “Elenite“, in which four people died, the questions about illegal construction and the inaction of the institutions are being raised again. How the river has literally “disappeared“ from the cadastral map, how the general development plan of the municipality of Nessebar is classified and why the state has “turned a blind eye“ to the violations on the Black Sea coast for 25 years. Ecologist Toma Belev, co-chair of the “Green Movement“, spoke to FACTI.
- Mr. Belev, do you expect anyone to be found guilty for the tragedy that occurred in the “Elenite“ resort complex?
- I definitely don't expect it, just as they didn't find anyone guilty for the 4 people who died in the flood in Tsarevo two years ago and the 11 who died in Asparuhovo 11 years ago, so here too the prosecutor's office will not find anyone guilty.
- And in “Elenite“ four people lost their lives, and when we talk about the incident, we mainly talk about construction - hotels, restaurants, apartments. And does human life matter or does it, does it not...
- That's right. Keep in mind that when we talk about “Elenite“, the authorities only talk about two illegal constructions there. Realistically, there are others that were built in the riverbed, but the authorities don't say anything about them at all. There is an amphitheater, a hotel, tennis courts, a park...
The flood was much bigger - it wasn't just in “Elenite“, but also in Sveti Vlas.
In Sveti Vlas, the water washed away the city's football field, since it was also built in the riverbed.
- You have followed some of the documents related to the “Elenite“ resort complex. When and how did it “disappear“ the river, so that the terrains in its bed can be rezoned?
- This is certainly difficult to verify, since the history of the cadastral map is not public, but the MRDPW can check it within 5 minutes and inform us if they so wish. But we know that there was a river there. Probably with the map of the restored property or with the creation of the cadastre in 2005. the river “disappears“, and by 2010 all the buildings were built – including “Negresco“ and “Atrium“.
We can assume that when the building permits were issued, the river had already disappeared in the “Negresco“ property. Nevertheless, the building was built in a specific way, taking into account that there is a covered river bed there – it is in the shape of a bridge, straddling the riverbed.
- So the water can pass in a certain amount, but apparently nature has other plans…
- The ownership is recognized by the relevant commercial company, but this does not change the fact that a builder and a designer cannot sign a project on a river – especially for such large objects. The entrance and restaurant of Negresco are located on the river at ground level.
- It is not a huge building, but it is enough to cause problems…
- The problem in Nessebar is serious – we have at least 25 years of hiding, turning a blind eye and violating numerous laws:
-- The Law on Spatial Planning
-- The Law on the Development of the Black Sea Coast
-- The Law on Forests
-- The Law on the Cadastre
-- The Law on Disaster Prevention
-- The Law on Waters
-- The Law on the Environment
-- The Law on Biodiversity
Everywhere in the laws there are protection systems that the state creates, but none of them have worked in the case of Elenite.
- In this sense, is the cadastre of the Nessebar municipality the starting point from which to start looking for the guilty?
- No. The starting point is the Territorial Development Plan (TUP) of the Nessebar municipality. It is valid until the adoption of a new General Development Plan. The plan was developed with funding from the World Bank and was adopted in 1997.
According to the law, these development plans are public and must be available on the municipalities' websites. In the municipality of Nessebar, it is the only TUP that is secret - no one can see it. If it is shown, it will become clear that a large part of the construction that has been carried out so far on the territory of the municipality does not meet the provisions in it.
The mayor and the chief architect showed a small piece in a public appearance, which allowed me to see what the TUP envisages in the area of “Elenite“. It turned out that no such large-scale construction is foreseen, including in the strip near St. Vlas.
The lack of a public development plan is a violation – by law it must be accessible. All detailed development plans (DDPs) must reflect its provisions and must also be public. We know that there is a DDP for the Elenite resort, but it was not released either, even after the scandal with the four victims and the major flood. The building permits are also hidden or published as scanned PDF files that do not allow searching. Everything is done in such a way as to conceal it.
This makes me think that the responsible ministries do not want to reveal the culprits.
The truth is that a lot of illegal construction has been carried out in the area of Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas and “Elenite“. This is precisely why the general development plan developed by the World Bank in 1997 is hidden.
Part of the territory of the "Elenite" resort is still considered a “forest territory”, although it is completely urbanized and built up. It has never been excluded from the forest fund. If you look at the cadastre, you will see that even the river is marked as forest property.
This means that the ZUT and the Forest Act have been violated. The owners have saved costs for changing the purpose of the land. The cadastre shows the river, but also numerous buildings on it - an amphitheater, a hotel, playgrounds. Neither the municipality nor the MRDPW say whose these objects are.
The authorities are only addressing the “Atlantis” water park and the “Negresco” building, the latter with apartments sold to private individuals. Perhaps because the other cases affect larger interests.
- That is, the reduced riverbed in the cadastre “unties” of the investors?
- Yes, it's like that everywhere. In this case, the riverbed was about 35 meters wide, and now it's been inserted into a property 12 meters wide, with built-up areas on the sides. Then it was covered, without any construction documents, and buildings and facilities were built on it. All of this was visible to the authorities - the municipality, the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water, the regional government, the basin directorate. The DNSK and the prosecutor's office have been notified over the years and it's strange why they haven't found a violation.
- And it happened with the municipality's signature?
- Yes. They claim that everything is legal. The municipality said that it has all the documents. But the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works said that there are no documents for the aquapark and the correction - that is, the narrowing and covering of the river.
That's why they are now declaring them illegal constructions and starting procedures. But I am more concerned about the “legal“ constructions, which are also in the riverbed. It is narrowed and they are on it.
The silence of the authorities is interesting - they only bring up the case of the river and “Negresco“, but not the rest of the overdevelopment of “Elenite“ and Sveti Vlas. And in Sveti Vlas there are five more riverbeds, which are completely built up. We have a 25-year hiding, turning a blind eye and systematic violation of the laws. However, nature does not forgive. This time it took four human lives. If the flood had happened only 20 days earlier, the victims would have been hundreds.