No public discussion in Mahiliou
The construction of a new house in the
Yubileiny suburb will take place despite the protests of the local
dwellers.
On 31 January the dwellers gathered in the
secondary school #31 to meet with state officials and discuss the
acute issues connected with the construction of the multi-stored
house.
The meeting was attended by about 80 people and five
representatives of the executive committee and the building
organization. The authorities agreed to hold a "public
discussion" only after the people had addressed the Presidential
Administration.
The people asked to transfer the house 30
meters away in order to preserve the small birch forest and prevent
the overshadowing of the nearest houses.
The chief architect
of the region Dzmitry Dudnichenka answered to them with the
following: the forest is not a park, and the number of schoolchildren
in the school is below the average one.
The civil activist
Valadar Tsurpanau who was present at the meeting said that the
"public discussion" looked much like a monologue of the
state authorities.
"At the end of the meeting the
officials stated that they met with the citizens as far as there were
many protests against the construction of the house. They wanted to
inform the people what would be built. As far as I understood, they
had no intention to listen to the indignant people and make any
concessions. It is very difficult to call it a public hearing,"
said Mr. Tsurpanau.
According to the authorities, the public
hearings weren't conducted before the beginning of the construction
works as far as the law allows not to do it in case the territory is
included in the plan of the city development.
The first
multi-stored building will be constructed in August 2013. Three more
houses will be built after it on the territory of the forest, which
consists of some 560 trees.