The company Linglong continues with the practice of non-compliance with the laws and regulations of the Republic of Serbia, which is demonstrated by the latest in a series of illegal constructions of waste storage facilities with a capacity of 700 kg/day within the tire factory in Zrenjanin.
Contrary to the provisions of the Law on Planning and Construction and the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, without a valid building permit and a decision on the need for an environmental impact assessment, Linglong built a waste storage facility with a capacity of 700 kg/day.
Along with the request for a decision on the need for an environmental impact assessment, submitted to the City Administration of the city of Zrenjanin in March 2024, the company attached the Project for the construction of a non-hazardous waste storage facility. However, the facility in question, for which a valid construction permit was not obtained, was already in the final stage of construction.
Soon after that, the City Administration of the City of Zrenjanin issued a decision that an environmental impact assessment is not required for this facility, and RERI filed an appeal in April 2024 due to its illegality.
Through the satellite images, RERI determined that the object in question had already been built. Bearing in mind that the company cannot obtain a construction permit until the previous appeal is decided on, RERI submitted requests for extraordinary inspection surveillance to the construction inspection and the environmental protection inspection. In response to these requests, the construction inspectorate stated that it issued a decision ordering the company to suspend work, remove the illegal facility, and close the construction site in March 2024. However, it is not known whether the inspector initiated criminal proceedings against the investor due to illegal construction.
Finally, RERI filed both criminal and economic offence reports against Linglong. The fact that the company is constructing illegally again should not be surprising, bearing in mind that the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office has so far decided not to initiate proceedings against Linglong, with various creative explanations, even when the inspection unequivocally determined that the company was constructing without the necessary permits.
“When a company continuously violates the laws of the Republic of Serbia and has the support of the highest state authorities for this, the question arises – who are these laws intended for?” concludes Ljubica Vukčević, a lawyer of the RERI organization.