Common lawlessness of the municipality/village?;

Of the questions submitted for inclusion in the agenda of the last accountability session of the Municipal Council, the one I submitted concerning the Municipality's actions regarding the illegal opening of roads by the EEPKA was removed with the ridiculous excuse that Echnoris is... a self-governing institution (as if the Municipality only protects its property when it is destroyed by private individuals). When I raised the issue for discussion in the Municipal Council, even outside the agenda, the recording was interrupted for some unknown reason.

Whether it was the mayor who instructed the chairman of the board to remove the question does not surprise me, and it concerns me a little. In any case, the answer could have been a simple «we did nothing» or the familiar «we'll see,» and the matter would have ended there. However, the cover-up and identification with the practices of Echonios on the eve of the elections for the new board of directors compels me to present my public objection here, since this was not possible at the municipal council meeting.

The Intervention in Routsouna (an area that is mostly public, forest, and Natura)

As you can see in the attached comparative illustration, approximately 2.5 km of new roads were opened in the area in 2022. The main road leads to Routsouna beach, while four secondary roads lead to private properties registered in the Land Registry.

And here the questions begin:

Feasibility

· Was there a need for a new road? (Why, for example, was improving the existing road not chosen?)

· Was there consultation with the residents of the Municipal Community of Karava?;

· Were the owners through whose properties the new roads passed consulted?;

Study Process

· Was an environmental impact study conducted?;

· Approval was obtained for new road construction in the area. ;

· Has approval been obtained from the Forestry Service?;

· Has approval been obtained from the Archaeological Service?;

· Did someone in charge decide on the route?;

· Was the new road design (alignment, gradients, engineering works, etc.) planned by a specialist?;

· Did any agency approve or review the study?;

Assignment Procedure

· Was a budget and issues drawn up?;

· Was a public tender held or was any legal assignment of the project to a suitable contractor based on preliminary measurements, costing, timetable, etc.?;

· Was a project sign put up? (We don't mean a marble plaque...)

All of the above questions have the same answer: «No.» Because it appears that this is not a legitimate public project but rather an arbitrary intervention in public and private forest and protected land, which should already have been addressed by the relevant supervisory mechanisms.

But even if we assume that legality is outdated, counterproductive, or secondary, and that the President (who ultimately takes personal responsibility for such a project) is «cool» because he does it in two weeks instead of two years, there are STILL questions that make us think that legal procedures exist for a reason:

1. If Travasaros received €20,000 for the «improvement» of a 250-meter road to Simatoreio, then why didn't Souris receive €200,000 for the opening of a 2,500-meter road? Who received a lot and who received little, and why?;

2. Is it a coincidence that the road to Routsouna passes by 5-6 fragmented plots of land that previously had no road access?;

3. The tragic aesthetic slope above the beach that has destroyed the landscape (but also a property) – if we go to restore it, will the local police send us away? Or will another «pseudonymous» complaint be filed?;

4. If we accept that roads can be built arbitrarily in a pristine landscape, how can we argue against it when they come to build arbitrary roads, e.g., for wind turbines?;

The big question, in my opinion, is this: after the fact of lawlessness, how will Egnatia (and the municipality, of course) be able to invoke legality against interests that threaten the island?;

10/09/2024, Andreas Mariatos

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The question that Mr. Kapsalis rejected was as follows: Has the Municipality acted in accordance with the minutes (nos. 2 and 37) of the EEPKA regarding interventions in the natural landscape of the area, and does it agree with and support the procedures followed for these two openings? To avoid any attempt to change the meaning of my request, I clarified that: 1. The question is not directed at the EEPKA, nor does it concern its self-government. It concerns exclusively possible omissions on the part of the Municipal Authority. 2. The question clearly concerns whether the Municipality selectively defends the interests of citizens in public spaces (as it has done in other cases where the alleged perpetrator was a private individual). 3. Personally, I am not opposed to the specific projects, which I myself enjoy, but I express reservations about the illegality of the way in which they were carried out and the creation of a fait accompli of arbitrary and illegal practice that potentially nullifies the island's ability to resistto greater illegal interventions in the landscape.

ii And some coincidences for conspiracy theorists:

1. The old road has very steep slopes and sharp turns, making it completely unsuitable for transporting wind turbines to the Gerakario forest. The new road does not.

2. Of all the applications for wind farms, only the one in the Routsouna area is still active, and only there has Egnatia Odos opened roads. In the others, no.

3. When, in 2023, H. Sougiannis asked whether the EEPKA had sought the opinion of the Municipality prior to the opening, the mayor interrupted to steer the conversation towards... the Customs Office of Agia Pelagia, then the president of the EEPKA responded with something about the asphalt in the cave, then H. Sougiannis persisted with the question and the president responded five times «we'll see,» and when reactions began, the mayor interrupted again to thank everyone for their presence and hastily closed the meeting.