Serbia: Activist group sues city of Zrenjanin over Linglong tyre plant for irregularities in impact assessment
"Activist sue city of Zrenjanin over Linglong tyre plant planned investment", 23 October 2020
Local activist group Građanski preokret has asked the Administrative Court to annul the decision of the City of Zrenjanin to give green light for the environmental impact assessment of the planned Linglong tyre plant.
The EIA study has already caused loud reactions from citizens and organisations in early September, when members of environmentalist and activist groups were not allowed to attend the public discussion in Zrenjanin.
The lawsuit claims that the City Administration is not competent to approve the environmental study
In its lawsuit Građanski preokret wrote that the decision is illegal because city authorities cannot give such consent. City authorities also did not act according to the rules of procedure and prevented members of the Građanski preokret and other citizens from participating in the public debate.
On October 1, the city authorities adopted a decision on approving the environmental impact assessment study prepared by the China’s tyre company Linglong, although last year the city authorities announced they are not in charge of that procedure, according to the press release on the website of Građanski preokret.
The authorities haven’t answered to questions about specific measures that will be taken to measure and prevent harmful emissions. [...]