Belgrade Administrative Court issued a\ndecision on April 19 suspending all construction works on the Kalemegdan cable\ncar project until a final judgment is made on the legality of the construction\npermit for preparatory construction activities, issued by the Ministry of\nConstruction, Transport and Infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Administrative Court upheld the appeal filed by the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI) to suspend decision execution, finding that construction works at Kalemegdan could cause irreparable damage to the cultural heritage \u2013 Kalemegdan Fortress and to the environment as well. The Court ruled that putting the construction permit into effect could inflict damage to the public interest that could hardly be repaired.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Administrative Court\u2019s decision, construction activities at Kalemegdan may not be continued<\/strong> until a final ruling on the legality of the construction permit is made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ministry of Construction, Transport\nand Infrastructure issued a permit on April 1 for construction works at\nKalemegdan, on the cadastral plot no. 64\/17, which is within the area of the\nBelgrade Fortress and the archaeological site \u201cAncient Singidunum<\/em>\u201d. Preparatory earthworks include excavation and\nplacement of concrete pillars. At the same lot, without the construction permit\nbeing issued, the Kalemegdan emblem tree had been felled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Environmental rights protection association RERI filed a lawsuit on April 17 before the Administrative Court, <\/strong>requesting<\/strong><\/a> that the permit for preparatory construction works be revoked on the grounds that it was unlawfully issued and that the preparatory works be immediately suspended.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to the irregularity in the cable car construction plan process, Europa Nostra Serbia has lodged an appeal to the Ministry of Culture and Information<\/a> to initiate the procedure of revoking the Detailed Regulation Plan and to issue a temporary measure for suspending all works related to the cable car construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RERI held a press conference on April 2,\ninforming the public about its findings about the illegalities following the\nKalemegdan-U\u0161\u0107e cable car construction project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Administrative Court decision proves\nthat the rule of law in Serbia is still observed and that fighting to preserve\nthe environment and public interest through legal means still yields results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once again, RERI calls on all relevant authorities,\nespecially the Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Tourism and Telecommunications,\nCity of Belgrade and the Serbian Public Company \u201cSkijali\u0161ta Srbije<\/em>\u201d to uphold the law and suspend all activities on cable\ncar construction that would cause permanent damage to a site of high public\ninterest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute press release (in Serbian) is available here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n