A case of chronic and repeated illegalities on the part of a quarrying company operating in Salamina (Gouva-Batsi area) will be discussed in Parliament, in the context of a question submitted by 32 SYRIZA MPs to five government ministers.
The quarry operated by Angelou Quarries of Salamis S.A., which «since it began operating in 1989, has been a constant challenge to legality, logic, and ethics,» as the former mayor of the island has publicly denounced, in 1989, has been a constant challenge to legality, logic, and ethics,« as the former mayor of the island has publicly denounced during a municipal council meeting.
The company's activity in the quarry located on the northern side of the island was extended in 2009 for a period of five years. However, today, «almost six years after the end of the problematic lease extension, the quarrying company remains in the quarry areas with its machinery, while at the same time it has filed lawsuits against elected officials or members of the Residents» Committee, who, concerned about compliance with legal procedures and the end of illegal mining and trading, have approached the local authorities, pressing for the law to be enforced,« describe Tr. Alexiadis and 31 other MPs from the official opposition party in their question. The businessman who years ago confessed to his illegality is therefore proving to be consistent: »Yes, I am acting illegally and I will continue to do so," he said in the presence of elected officials, according to an official document from the municipality.
In their question, SYRIZA MPs include a number of decisions confirming the illegal operation of the quarry. The decisions were accompanied by corresponding fines (amounting to tens of thousands of euros) against the quarry company. Among others, this includes a decision by the coordinator of the Decentralized Administration of Attica in September 2017, which requires the quarry company to remove its mechanical equipment and hand over the site to the State.
Since then, as stated in the text of the question submitted to Parliament, the competent authorities have not only found «repeated infringements» by the company, which continued its illegal mining activities (and was fined again), but also the dumping of «huge volumes of solid waste with possible mixing of hazardous waste.».
The MPs are addressing five ministers (Interior, Finance, Citizen Protection, Shipping, and Environment & Energy) and are asking to know, first of all, what stage the process of handing over/taking over the quarry is at, as well as where the process of collecting the fines that have been imposed is at, and -among other things- what actions they will take, on the one hand, to protect public health from the ’continuing dumping of garbage, industrial waste, and potentially hazardous waste,« and, on the other hand, to restore the site, which, it should be noted, occupies a large part of a forest or reforestation area.
