After the MANS Investigative Centre published footage of the complete devastation of the Tara River at the construction site of the highway, it is more than ever necessary for the Government of Montenegro and the relevant Ministry of Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Transport to publish all the relevant documents on the project for the construction of the Bar-Boljare highway.
Most of the documents needed for an adequate public control of everything that happens at the construction sites of the highway has been declared secret, and MANS continuously warns about the fact that in addition to the narrow circle of people, almost no one has a complete and true picture of the construction of the highway.
It is almost unbelievable that the Government continues to refuse to publish the conceptual design of the highway on the basis of which CRBC is developing further projects and obtaining consents and permits, officially designating it as secret into which the public cannot have insight.
Direct consequence of such practice is the construction site at Tara where the question remains whether CRBC built more than was permitted and thus devastated the river, or this devastation of the Tara was already foreseen by the government’s plans that was hidden from the public.
Official documents obtained by MANS show that the Government was warned that the construction of the highway would have a huge impact on the protected area of the entire Tara River basin, while the situation on the ground testifies that the worst case scenario took place in practice.
The extent to which the complete work on the construction of the highway is closed to the public is best shown by the fact that all documents produced by the two state commissions with over 50 members, including their control reports, are marked as secret.
When this kind of non-transparent practice is put into the context of what happened and continues to happen on Tara, the motives of the Government of Montenegro to hide the content of those documents from the public are clear.
It is the reports on the control of the documentation and the execution of the works that could show who in the complete chain of decision-making failed which resulted in the destruction of the Tara river basin.
The work of the aforementioned commissions by the end of the construction of Smokovac-Mateševo section will be paid in the amount of entire € 15 million, so the right question is raised as what do we as citizens get for this money if the consequence of such “control” is destroyed Tara.
Thus, MANS once again urges the line ministries to make public all relevant documentation that is currently marked as secret, and especially those which can undoubtedly point out the responsibility for the devastation of the Tara River.
We believe that there is no other state, business or private interest to keep this kind of documents secret, especially if this can prevent further devastation of Tara or any other location on the highway route.
