Civil society raises doubts that the way is being opened for the licensing of HC "Lumbardhi 2"

The Ministry of Economy and Environment has published the document requested by 55 civil society organizations only after the approval it received from the company to do so. Meanwhile, the "Torches" organization raises doubts that the Ministry of Economy and Environment is paving the way for the licensing of HC "Lumbardhi 2", even though the company has declared that it has given up the construction of the dam and the degradation it has done in that part. The Ministry says that they are in the process of examining the licensing or not of "Lumbardhi 2".

Only after the approval received from KELKOS, the Ministry of Economy and Environment has published the study on the minimum flow of water in the three hydropower plants of this company in the Deçan Gorge.

This institution has convinced the company that the documents requested by the "Torches" organization, supported by 54 civil society organizations, should be published on the website and cover the parts that the company considers confidential.

Shpresa Loshaj from the "Pishtartar" organization has raised suspicions that this ministry is paving the way for the licensing of HC "Lumbardhi 2", even though the company has stated that it has given up the construction of the dam in that part.

"In Zall i Rupa, we confirmed from the minister that the process for granting a permit for 'Lumbardhi 2' has begun, which means that the process has begun to cover up the crimes on Zall i Rupa, to pay off the debts of KELKOS to the Municipality of to Decan. But, according to the law, we have always made it known that no permit can be considered without the consent and participation of the public. An ecocide was committed in Zall i Rupa, how can a single official cover that crime with a report", said Loshaj.

She warned that they will also address the Embassy of Austria, the Austrian Government, the European Union, the Strasbourg Court, as well as the Energy Community, to tell them, as she said, about the damages that happened in Kosovo.

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"Now it is known that our institutions are not ready to protect the interests of the people. If KELKOS decides to enter into an agreement with these individuals, then it should know that this agreement will not be legitimate", she emphasized.

The director of the Regional Authority for River Basins, Gani Berisha, has also admitted that they are in the process of examining whether or not to license "Lumbardhi 2", but, according to him, everything will be done based on the legislation in force.

Meanwhile, Adem Lushaj, from the civil society in Deçan, has said that they are collecting the documents to expose, as he said, the violations committed by allowing the hydropower plants in Gryke i Deçan.

"We are trying to get all the necessary documents, which the Department of Water, the Ministry and the ERO had to request, then to give permission for operation, we are trying to gather those documents that have kept secret. Based on the documents we have received, the destruction of the Deçani Gorge has been documented, where tens of kilometers of pipes are inserted into the ground to supply the 'Deçani' hydropower plant, or we call it the 'Manastiri' hydropower plant", he emphasized.

He mentioned the lawsuit they filed for violation of the Law on special areas, specifically Article 5 of this law, which prohibits the construction of hydropower plants within the area.

He said that they were informed by the Special Prosecutor's Office, where they filed the lawsuit, that the case was forwarded to the Basic Prosecutor's Office of Peja, in the Department for serious crimes.

"We have appealed to the Prosecutor's Office that the 2008 Law on Special Zones, Article 5, which strictly prohibits the construction of hydropower plants within the zone, has been violated, but when the Deçani Monastery is in question, legal violations are being allowed, while when it is the construction of the road , which develops Deçan, the law must be respected and political agreements reached that have been trumpeted recently, allegedly that the Municipality of Deçan has reached a historic agreement with the Monastery and embassies for the construction of this road that is passing through, he emphasized .

The published report contains a 13-page study on the minimum flow of water in three hydropower plants, "Deçani", "Bellaja" and "Lumbardhi 2", while the rest are correspondences between the Ministry and the company for the organizations' request for access to this study.

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In November of last year, ERO licensed two hydropower plants of KELKOS, after they were provided with an environmental permit from the Ministry of Economy and Environment.

But their activity has been stopped after Vetëvendosje and "Pishtaran" have filed lawsuits against these two institutions, since the Basic Court has imposed a temporary security measure, suspending their licenses.