ATTEMPTS TO COUNTER THE NATURE IN THE COUNTRY AGAINST MILLIONS

The green octopus stretches its tentacles to the tune of BGN 16.9 million
Monitor Agency
 
The pseudo-environmentalists emphasised on the new cable car in Bansko to divert attention from the contract.
The green octopus has stretched its greedy tentacles towards a public contract with a value of BGN 16.9 million. These funds are being provided for the establishment of habitats and surveys of the presence of birds and animals in the country. and the Coalition for Nature to Remain in Bulgaria feel that they should receive the money. Thus stated the National Association Bulgarian Black Sea (NABBS,) in an open letter to the media. It also said that the new protests of the pseudo-environmentalists, against the second cable car in Bansko, were actually a part of the plan to ”utilise BGN 16,661,500 for nature counting”.
 
Another demonstration by Toma Belev and his associates, against the decision of the cabinet which gave the green light for the construction of a second cable car, in compliance with all legal and environmental standards, is expected to be held today. The impudence of the green racketeers is expected to trigger a reaction from Bansko residents, who have insisted on the construction of a second cable car for years. They have  scheduled a counter-protest at the same time.
 
Meanwhile, NABBS is adamant that the protests of pseudo-environmentalists are motivated by the experience of green octopus whereby preserving areas for counting and caring for wildlife brings in the money, rather than actually caring for the nature.
 
The amount of BGN 16.9 million in question, is the value of a public procurement announced on 28 August last year, by the Executive Environment Agency. The aim of the competition is to select a consortium which will explore the habitats of animals and plants in Bulgaria. On 21 September, three appeals against two lots, were filed with the Commission for Protection of Competition. These were the Analysis and Exploration of Species and Habitat Types in Bulgaria and the Analysis and Exploration of Bird Species in Bulgaria. In November, following a refusal of the Commission for Protection of Competition to initiate proceedings based on the lodged appeals, the Executive Environment Agency, which is the contracting authority of  public procurement, opened a new procurement with new criteria. According to informal sources, since the public procurement did not meet the requirements of Belev associates, it was appealed against by a company close to Green Balkans.
 
The fact that only two years ago, a large portion of work, for which nearly BGN 17 million should have been paid, was completed under another public contract, for an amount nine times lower, is even more outrageous! It is about a competition won by a consortium with the participation of Greek company – ENVEKO DZZD – for field studies on the distribution and number of breeding bird species in Bulgaria. The work was performed in the period 2013 – 2015 and the winner of the competition received BGN 1.12 million. Eventually a certificate, proving that the work was completed, was issued in 2016.
 
The question is why is money being paid for duplicate activities in these cases? The possession of large areas by environmental NGOs, has led to the lives of the people living in these territories, depending entirely on the political interests of these NGOs. Environmental NGOs are acquiring financial resources from the taxpayer for the purpose of political power! “Nature is only an occasion – the reason is money, and the goal is power” NABBS categorically states. It also added, “Economedia and its satellite websites explain how the green octopus is likely to create nature and that it is its sole owner, while people must be evicted from Bulgaria. The truth is that parts of the Coalition Nature to Remain in Bulgaria have tried to obtain, through consortia or otherwise, BGN 16,951,500. It is not clear how many dozens or hundreds of thousands of people in Bulgaria will lose their property after the counting of these censors!”.  NABBS also asked the prosecutor’s office to deal with this question with the utmost urgency.
 
Pinocchio and Co. support Belev associates!
As expected, the oligarchy formations, Yes Bulgaria, managed by the minister of justice, Hristo Ivanov, Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, DEOS, the Green party and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, added their weight to the problem about the second cable car, raised by the green octopus. The five parties proved once again, their connection with Toma Belev which we have been informing people about for years, coming up with a common position in support of his protests against the second cable car. They have said that they did not oppose the project, but still continued to spread the lies started by the pseudo-environmentalists. This is despite these lies being contradicted by both the institutions and the investor itself.
 
Yulen AD, the developer of conceptual design, invites international experts.
Meanwhile, the concessionaire of Bansko ski area, Yulen AD, officially announced that it would launch a project for the construction of a second cable car, specifying that it was entitled to do that, after the adoption of the updated Pirin National Park Management Plan. The news was reported, with the investor’s opinion, which was sent to the media after a meeting in MEW.
 
”We have developed a conceptual design which we have already distributed. It is the result of a consensual decision of leading world specialists in ski area design”, stated the company. The communication specified also, that all possible options, including increasing the capacity of the current cable car, have been explored. The final conclusion, however, was that the proposed concept design was the optimal option to provide access to the ski area in the most environmentally friendly way.
 
The investor pointed out that it will also take into account all issues and any possible options for better and easier practice of winter sports and will offer a comprehensive solution which will be developed by leading international specialists. ”We will hire a design team to prepare a motivated proposal and will comply with all procedures provided for by the country’s environmental legislation,” they said.
 
Yulen AD states that it will strictly observe the Bulgarian legislation.
”We have neither had nor have nor will have any desire to build housing facilities in the park. Whoever asserts that, speculates and deceives the society, since such a construction is prohibited by law. Our only desire and intent, similar to the subject of the concession, is the completion and optimisation of sports and technical infrastructure for better functioning of the ski area” said the representatives of Yulen AD.
 
The mayor of Bansko announces installation of vehicle counter.
The vehicles which have free access to Pirin Park are major polluters of the environment. This point, however, is ignored to highlight the lies and insinuations of the so-called ”Pirin Park Rescuers”. This was raised by the mayor of Bansko, Georgi Ikonomov, in a statement sent by the municipality in response to the speech of Environmental Minister, Nino Dimov, the previous day. The mayor also stated that the vehicles were a major risk factor and announced that he would work on the prohibition of their free access. Mr. Ikonomov was pleased that Mr. Dimov shares the same opinion as him as he has been advocating this for years and points out that measures need to be taken to resolve the problem. In his opinion, the areas where work needs to be done are many, but ”the construction of parallel infrastructure, such as the cable car, is mandatory.” He also said that a camera equipped with a vehicle counter is about to be installed. ”The device will enable us to get a real idea of ​​the pollution from the gasses expelled by these vehicles” said  Mr.Ikonomov.