Trebinje Citizens Fight Against Illegal Conversion of Agricultural to Construction Land

(Patria) - The informal citizens' group "Movement for Restitution Trebinje" informed citizens in the center of Trebinje today via an info booth about their fight against the illegal conversion of agricultural to construction land. The Movement for Restitution Trebinje has started this fight to prevent irregularities in the drafting of the Trebinje City Regulatory Plan, which foresees construction on this land, which is unlawful and undesirable for several reasons.

Namely, for 2 years, the Movement for Restitution Trebinje has been pointing out that the local authorities of the City of Trebinje are trying to convert state-owned agricultural land into construction land, which they will manage outside the law. The citizens' arguments are that this is arable land of class I and that an irrigation system, into which millions of KM have been invested, was opened at Pridvorci field (which includes the disputed location) 2 years ago. In addition, the mentioned land is classified as agricultural according to the current Urban Plan, and its conversion is not allowed, and there is a ban on managing this land.

"So far, we have undertaken several legal actions by which we have prevented numerous illegal actions by the city administration, and the Republican Inspectorate reacted to our report. After that, at the end of May 2022, the Decision on the preparation of the Pridvorci Regulatory Plan was repealed at the City Assembly due to harmonization with higher-level documentation. Due to the illegal actions of the local self-government unit, at the end of June, we filed a criminal complaint with the District Public Prosecutor's Office in Trebinje against officials and responsible persons of the City of Trebinje and the City Assembly of Trebinje, in which we stated, among other things, that the City Assembly of Trebinje is again illegally and in contravention of the Decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, promoting the disposal of state-owned agricultural land.

Nevertheless, regardless of our comments on the content of this document, the councilors of the Trebinje City Assembly adopted a new Spatial Plan on 07.15," emphasize the representatives of the "Movement for Restitution Trebinje". All attempts by the local authorities will not stop the citizens in their efforts to prevent the illegal conversion of agricultural land into construction land. This is state-owned land, although according to the latest information, the Republican Administration for Geodetic Affairs Banja Luka, i.e., the Trebinje regional unit, has issued a disputed Decision allowing the registration of the right to this part of state property to the RS. This decision is contrary to the Law on Management of State Property, and the Movement for Restitution Trebinje will initiate proceedings before the competent institutions, about which the public will be informed in the coming period.

We will not give up - we will use all legal remedies to achieve our goal - we will continue to prove ownership rights over this agricultural land that the City of Trebinje is trying to illegally dispose of. We will not stop until the violation of the law by the local authorities is stopped, the statement said.