In the announcement it is stated that the Ministry of Environment and Energy is very well aware of the issues that arise for those property owners who did not proceed, within the deadlines provided by the Law, to submit an objection during the process posting of the forest mapsand will ensure by all legal means that not a single one is wronged.
Regarding press reports on the process posting of the forest maps, the Ministry of Environment and Energy points out that with the completion of the forest maps, citizens’ property is secured and protected, creating for the first time in the country’s history a structured ownership framework while at the same time ensuring the forest as a common good and a public natural resource .
In more detail:
- The government literally got into chaos on the issue of forest maps . As of 2017, more than 174,000 objections had been accumulated on only 52% of the posted forest maps, which, combined with the rate of their examination (about 12,000 by the end of 2019), would require more than 15 years until the final settlement.
- The Council of State, with decision 685/2019, annulled the relevant ministerial decisions of the SYRIZA government, for the exemption from the posting of “residential densities”.
- The current government immediately proceeded to enactment of law 4685/20 in order for the administration to comply with the decision of the Council of Ministers, to reduce objections, not to inconvenience citizens in the committees and finally to effectively speed up the pace of examination of the remaining objections.
- They were issued on time all the prescribed administrative acts and the process started from 15.01.21 with the aim of completing the posting of forest maps on 26.02.21 for the whole country.
Especially, with regard to the old posts for their uniform treatment and the matter of submitting objections, a circular was issued on 14.01.21 clearly defining the following:
- The pending objections that are now satisfied through the reformation of the forest map with Law 4685/20, are placed on file.
- The remaining pending objections are referred to new Objection Review Committees (EPEA), accepting completion with new supporting documents from the citizens.
- Areas that have received redevelopment applications are demarcated more broadly, so that they can be re-submitted to the process of submitting objections from the citizens.
- Reform requests that were not examined or not satisfied by the relevant Forestry Service are converted into objections free of charge and sent for examination to the EPEA.
- Obvious errors with positive content for the citizen are automatically corrected, while the the rest are referred free of charge to the new EPEAs for examination as objections.
- The remaining areas for which no interest in objection or reformation request was expressed by the citizens, either with the previous or with the current procedure, retain the current regime of partial sanction of their character.
At the same time, the procedure for submitting and examining applications for manifest errors is in full force while the process of reforming the forest map is and will remain in full force, when such a demand arises following legal administrative acts, in accordance with article 20 of Law 3889/10, as it currently applies.
Especially for farmers, the Ministry of Environment and Energy recognizing their concerns after the also recent decision of the Council of State, (710/2020) which annulled the ministerial decisions of the SYRIZA government that refer to land clearing for agricultural cultivation without administrative acts (application of the provisions of articles 47 and 47B of Law 998/79), will immediately take initiatives to resolve the issues.
The the same will happen for the speedy resolution of the ownership issue concerning the grassland areas of our islands, as well as the issue of “wooded fields” with comprehensive proposals that will provide a definitive solution.
The goal is to complete the process of approving forest maps in the vast majority of the country by the end of 2021. This emblematic project will proceed and be implemented, with the most reliable content, protecting citizens’ assets.
