Foreign company requested a part of the Valea Morilor residential and leisure area

Head of the Chisinau Territorial Organization of the Ecologic Movement, Vladimir Garaba, declared that a foreign company requested from the Moldovan authorities a part on the lake and territory from the Valea Morilor residential area from Chisinau in order to build “a complex of restaurants, hotels and amusement parks”. According to the legislation, the mentioned area has a protected status that doesn’t allow any economical activity that will damage the ecological situation. Garaba also claims that the idea to sell this region to an economic agent could be acceptable if the latter would invest in the rehabilitation of the area, which is on the verge of an ecological catastrophe. At the end of last week, president Vladimir Voronin has pleaded, during a meeting with representatives of the Government and City Hall, for the reconstruction of the Valea Morilor Park, with the renovation of all sites from the territory. The date of the meeting has coincided with the publication in the “Official monitor of the Republic of Moldova” of a Government decision regarding the declaration of a part on the park as state property, whereas now the terrain is municipal property. Requested by Info-Prim Neo to comment on the created situation in the Valea Morilor region, as well as the intentions to sell these terrain to an economic agent, the municipal councilor from the „Ravnopravie” Social-political Movement, Valeri Climenco, declared that the increased interest of central authorities in the matter prove that the idea to alienate a region found under state protection could belong to Vladimir Voronin himself, which, according to the cited source, “ignores the current legislation when personal interests are involved”. “The laws are for all of us except Voronin, who manages the people’s goods as he pleases”, Climenco stated. He declared that the alienation of the area, unique for Chisinau inhabitants’ recreation, would be a crime. The Councilor believes that the situation of the park should be decided by CMC, which is authorized to solve matters of the city. At the same request, independent municipal council Vasile Parasca claims that Valea Morilor Park indeed requires a full renovation, and the local authorities should decide upon the project and the financing sources. According to the councilor, the intentions to transfer to state property part of the region are fueled only by personal interests. „It is rumored that part of the Bahmut woods, a place of leisure for thousands of people, was already bough by a businessman, although the land, water and natural resources are property of the people. If part of the Valea Morilor territory will also be sold, Chisinau inhabitants will forever loose this leisure place”, Vasile Parasca declared. The councilor from the communist fraction, Serghei Novic, claims that only local authorities have the right to decide the outcome for municipal patrimony, therefore the alienation of part of the Valea Morilor Park will be illegal without the CMC approval. Novic implied that it is not a bad idea to construct restaurants in the area, and specified that he cannot declare more until he finds out what territory is involved. The independent municipal councilor Mihai Roşcovan believes that such initiatives from the state government are a direct interference with local authorities’ business. ”These initiatives do not seek to realize projects favorable to Chisinau inhabitants, but to certain interest groups. If the goal of the project would be the improvement of the region and attraction of investors, an investment project would have been elaborated”, Mihai Roşcovan claims. The councilor believes that if an investment project is planned, this should be according to the General Urban Plan, which has not been elaborated yet. Roscovan expressed his regrets that such initiatives are done without consulting CMC and profile committees, a fact that violates the current legislation. This opinion is shared by the PPCD councilor, Victor Grebenscicov, which claims that such a change in the status of a part of the Valea Morilor area cannot be done without the approval of local authorities, and stated that the central authorities had an excessive intervention in matters of local public authorities competence.