Construction of the holiday development Rila Lake Resort has started near Panichishte Lake in Rila Mountain, despite the ban issued by Minister of Environment and Water Affairs Djevdet Chakurov on August 7 2008. He had sent the order prohibiting the carrying out the Panichishte village area’s detailed master plan, To Sustain the Nature in Bulgaria (SNB) coalition wrote in a media statement on August 20.

SNB informed the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs and the National Construction Control Directorate of the violation of Chakurov’s order. Chakurov approved of this ban because, according to him, the detailed master plan violated the Environment Protection Act by allowing construction in Rila national park.

The environmentalists insisted that the two state institutions check what was happening on the banks of Panichishte Lake, as well as making Separeva Banya municipality, which governs the region, conduct the compulsory environmental assessment procedure during the obligatory re-design of and amendments to the Panichishte detailed master plan.

SNB also said that the environmentalists invited all interested people and representatives of all state institutions that deal with environmental preservation to come to the area on August 22, to check together whether Bulgarian laws were being observed in the areas of Panichishte and Rila national park.

For more on August 22 action, click here.