Detective Andrei Donica and mayor of Talmaza village of Stefan Voda district Ion Ursu in a news conference asked starting a criminal case against the administration of Moldova’s Water Agency and Minister of the Environment Gheorghe Salaru over the illegal sale of an irrigation system used by seven villages in Sefan Voda and Causeni districts, IPN reports.
Andrei Donica said that the system was sold with multiple violations and the local farmers risk being unable to cope with the drought typical of this region. He called on acting Prime Minister Vlad Filat to intervene and clarify the situation.
“We possess information that the irrigation systems were destroyed in a number of districts. The move is aimed at obtaining over US$300 million from the Americans for installing new irrigation systems. The competent bodies do not take measures. A criminal case should be started and the experts who defectively assessed the irrigation system must be penalized. Those who forged the signatures of land owners should also be punished,” said the detective.
Ion Ursu said the irrigation system was sold illegally. Under the sale-purchase contract, the water pipes were 90% worn-out, but a study made by the local councilors showed that the wear degree was only 10%.
“The mayor’s office of Talmaza is now in litigation with the company that bought the land with the irrigation system. We filed numerous applications to the police, the Prosecutor’s Office of Stefan Voda and the National Anticorruption Center and received answers that there are all the documents needed to start a criminal case,” said the mayor.
Ion Ursu proposed creating a group of experts that would include representatives of civil society to analyze the state of the irrigation system. Over the last year many farmers who wanted to plant trees in the area gave up because there was no irrigation.
