After serious public discontent, the Municipal Council of Elin Pelin rejected the construction of an RDF waste treatment plant on nearly 72 acres of municipal land near Ravno Pole. The chairman of "Save Sofia" Boris Bonev attended the meeting and supported the residents of the area, who opposed the project.
According to Bonev, the rejection of the agreement with "On Energy" The municipality stopped the treatment of up to 200,000 tons of RDF per year.
„This is a victory, above all, for the people of Ravno Pole, Elin Pelin and the surrounding settlements, who refused to let anyone decide the future of their area behind their backs. They showed that when a local community is active, organized and insists on being heard, the institutions cannot simply ignore it“, said Boris Bonev after the vote.
"Save Sofia" defines the decision as the right one, because for a project of such a scale, there must first be clear answers about the impact on people and the environment, the origin and transport of the huge amounts of RDF, the additional heavy-duty traffic and the long-term consequences for the development of the area.
„No one has been able to convincingly explain why the Municipality of Elin Pelin must first commit to a specific private investor and place municipal terrain at the heart of the project, and only then should we receive answers to the most important questions. With an investment of such magnitude, the order should be the other way around - first you prove that the project is acceptable to the people and the region, and only then do you ask for support from the Municipality," Bonev emphasized.
According to "Save Sofia", it is particularly important that we are talking about nearly 72 acres of municipal property. This requires local authorities to assess whether the use of this public resource protects the interests of the residents.
"Today's decision shows why local authorities matter. Municipal property must be managed in the interests of the people, and not for people to be faced with a fait accompli because of the intentions of a private investor. I am glad that their voice was heard today," Bonev said.
"Save Sofia" will continue to support the residents of the region in future attempts to resume the project in the same or another form. “We will monitor the topic closely because the people in the area deserve an improvement in their quality of life, not decisions that make them fear what will appear next to their homes“, concluded Boris Bonev.