With 17 votes "for", 10 "against" and 5 "abstains" the Karlovo Municipal Council decided to begin the procedure for changing the status of the property on which a gunpowder factory is planned to be built in the land of the village of Karnare. Mayor Emil Kabaivanov explained that the procedure requires changing the status of the land near Karnare.
"This is a legally established procedure. Every property owner who wishes to change the purpose must obtain the consent of the Municipal Council. That is the law. In this case, we are talking about 518 decares of state-owned land. The owner has expressed a desire for it to be allocated for production purposes," he said.
During the debates, tension arose in the hall and municipal security and police had to intervene so that the citizens who entered the hall could take their seats.
Among them were the deputies from Velichie Krasimira Katincharova and Maria Ilieva, who had asked to speak at the session, but the councilors voted against it.
This morning, dozens gathered in front of the municipality in Karlovo for a protest organized by the Vazrazhdane party against the investment intention of VMZ – Sopot to build a gunpowder plant together with the German concern Rheinmetall. The protest was under the slogan “No to a gunpowder plant in the Municipality of Karlovo“.
According to the MP from Vazrazhdane Krastyo Vrachev, there is no EIA prepared for this plot, no public discussion has been held and most importantly, the Rose Valley will be polluted. That is why people are protesting, he commented.
"The way in which the report was submitted raises huge concerns. First of all, starting from the fact that it is not clear whether VMZ is the owner of the land and if it really is not the owner, because as far as I know the status of the land has not been settled, VMZ does not even have the right to request the development of a PUP", added Vrachev.
The residents of Karlovo stated that they do not want the air, soil and water in the Karlovo region to be polluted. Nobody asked us about this plant, they commented before the session.
"We are against air pollution. What our leaders are doing is downright shameless, impudence.
We are outraged that without asking anyone, some people decide to fix their private business. This is a private business between Boyko and Rheinmetall. How can we not be outraged? Why don't we produce drones? Why is the dirtiest thing still here in our country?", said some of the protesters.