The commission for environment and regional development, in the name of Parliament, will notify the Prosecutor General’s Office and will request it to start a criminal case for negligence and abuse of power against those who authorized the construction of an apartment building on Nicolae Dimo St in Chisinau, which led to the illegal felling of trees. The announcement was made by the commission’s chairman Radu Mudreac after a round of public hearings on the issue, IPN reports.

Veaceslav Grivalas, vice director of the Environment Agency, said the company was authorized by the Chisinau City Hall to erect a block of flats based on documents obtained from responsible institutions. The Environment Agency is being reorganized and does not have employees who would determine if the tree felling authorization was issued legally.

Lilian Munteanu, head of the Inspection for Environmental Protection of Chisinau municipality, said the tree felling works were performed based on an authorization issued by environmental bodies on an area of 0.24 ha. The authorization was issued based on the urbanism certificate for erecting the block, the mayor’s order on the cutting down of some of the trees and the report on the phytosanitary examination of trees produced based on assessments by specialists of the Green Areas Association and the inspection certificate of the Environment Agency. There were felled 17 trees with the diameter of 8 to 52 cm and 14 drying trees. “We didn’t favor the cutting down of the 17 healthy trees. The mayor’s order allowed doing so,” he stated.

Green Areas Association deputy head Galina Leahu said deputy mayor Nistor Grozavu instructed to draft an order on the felling of trees. The inspectors authorized the cutting down of 17 healthy trees. Liter, inspectors of the Forestry Research Institute and the Environment Agency found drying trees at the scene and authorized the felling of these too. “If we now go and find more than 30 trees felled there, the company that is erecting the building should be fined,” stated Galina Leahu.

According to Radu Mudreac, they will make an approach to the Prosecutor General’s Office for the reason that the company actually felled more trees than it was allowed to and it also cut down healthy trees with the consent of officials of the Green Areas Association.

The Chisinau Municipal Council on November 15 abrogated the decision of May 2015 by which the construction of a nine-story apartment building and an underground parking garage at 17 Dimo St was authorized.