Ecologists ask local authorities to re-examine and cancel illegal decisions on constructions inside quarters

The Territorial Organization Chisinau of the Ecology Movement of Moldova (EMM) has formulated a recommendation for the Chisinau Municipal Council seeking the re-examination and cancellation of the illegal decisions over the allocation of plots of land for construction inside residential blocks and on sports and playing grounds. Vladimir Garaba, chairman of the EMM Territorial Organization Chisinau, told a news conference on Tuesday that the former administrations of the City Hall issued a number of relevant ordinances that run counter to the legislation on the principles of urbanism and on the protection of environment, as well as to the Government Decision of 2004 which bans the location of new facilities on the areas adjoining the apartment blocks. The City Hall could solve this problem and take action to protect the constitutional right to a healthy environment of the people, Vladimir Garaba said. At the news conference, they spoke about the inhabitants of several apartment buildings that appealed to the court to cancel the decisions authorizing constructions on children’s playing grounds, platforms for drying laundry or recreational zones for adults. Referring to the authorisation of constructing a nine-storey building on such a ground located on Florilor Street, the lawyer Victor Stratila stressed that the land distribution project was not discussed with the people living nearby. In such a way, the rights of thousands of citizens were flagrantly violated to benefit one person, who was allowed to erect the building, Victor Statila said. In this connection, Sveltana Chifa, head of the Municipal Division for the Protection of Children’s Rights, said that by depriving the children of playing grounds, they are deprived of the right to develop normally and harmoniously, right provided in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. To solve the problem of authorisations for construction inside yards and the problem of housing space in the capital city, the EMM Territorial Organization Chisinau proposes allocating plots for new buildings on the outskirts or outside the town, according to the general urbanism plan.