Illegal construction in and near the town of Bansko and the surrounding national park and Strandzha Park, in south-eastern Bulgaria are being investigated and stopped by the Supreme Administrative Prosecution.
In addition, they are looking into developments in the north east, in the area between Kavarna and the Romanian border, where several construction projects are being carried out in or too close to national parks.
Several developments in Bansko are already marked for demolition and many others are to follow.
Two out of three developers that I have spoken to in the past nine years assured me that they had either someone important in the municipality, or the mayor or even a minister in their pockets.
Of course, all parties concerned would now deny this. The problem is that because of political changes, new corrupt officials, who were not part of the gravy train in the past, are now not concerned with the plight of the developer or the developer’s investors.
Without protection from their old friends, many developers are swimming up-stream in what can only be described as Bansko’s latest mass-tourism attraction, the Pirin Mountain Sh*t Creek.
Bansko’s situation stands in sharp contrast against surrounding towns such as Razlog, where there was a proper plan for the area which was by the looks of it properly administered. What a difference a mayor makes :).
I highly recommend, especially to foreign investors, to make sure that your investment is safe by having a notary check not only the building permits, but also the regional plan since they would overrule any real or fake signature from government officials.
Believe it or not, there is even a case where there was a signature from a Government minister on a permit who later denied ever signing it and claimed it was a fraud.
I would like to volunteer to personally drive one of those bulldozers up the hill, as I believe that the rape of Pirin Mountain and many other beauty spots in Bulgaria has gone far enough.
THEY ARE DRIVING ME MAD
I know I keep boring you with tales about bad driving in Bulgaria, but indulge me one more time, especially since the summer has to be the prime hunting season for cars versus pedestrians, cars versus cars and cars versus trees.
Bulgarian National Television aired a programme that included a compilation of accidents recorded by CCTV cameras in the centre of Sofia. I identified the most interesting and deadly areas across the street from the Presidental Palace, in front of the Russian Church and the crossing at Sofia University.
After watching these horrific scenes, I stood for a while on different streets watching the traffic fly by. The driving attitude is similar to the way one would play a computer game, completely childish. The mix of aggression and incompetence is beyond unbelievable. I must once again state that although Bulgarian passports are now accepted in the EU without a visa, their driving licences should absolutely NOT be taken seriously.
Beside the antics of the locals, I have also discovered a new shopping trend on Vitosha Boulevard. I have now noticed on several occasions that diplomats abuse the privileges associated to their red plates by driving full speed through Vitosha Boulevard and the park in front of wherever they are shopping or eating.
I watched one such car parked outside of Mango and asked the driver if diplomats should not set a good example. The poor man, who represents an oil-rich socialist nation in Latin America, jumped back into his car and sped away, narrowly missing two bike riders and a baba with a baby carriage.
From my next column onwards, I will write down and print the licence plates of diplomatic cars driving through Vitosha Boulevard.
Speaking of bicycles, I want to thank the municipality for painting bike paths on some pavements in the centre. One comment, please remove cars parked on the pavements where these lines are drawn.
Koos Jan Schouten (1954) was born in Amsterdam, has lived in Bulgaria since 1998, owns www.webfactory.bg and has been married since 2002 to his lovely Lilly.
