Bulgaria's Agriculture Ministry has started to sell
some 2000 acres of highlandpastures from the State Land Fund for a
ridiculous price, Toma Belev, anenvironmentalist from the Zeleni
Balkani ("Green Balkans") NGO has announced.
The pasture plots in question are located near Mount Midzhur in
the western part of the Stara Planina ("Balkan") Mountain,
and are being sold by the BulgarianAgriculture Ministry at a BGN 0.1 per
square meter, Belev alarmed.
His statement comes in the wake of an announcement by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food that they will put up for sale a total of 154
000 decares (38 000 acres) from the State Land Fund in exchange for
the so called "compensation bonds" defined as compensation
instruments, issued to owners of property nationalised during the communist era
that cannot be restored to them in its physical boundaries, which will be
eligible payment instrument for the transaction.
The Agriculture Ministry said the total worth of
the compensation bonds for the 154 000 decares to be sold will be BGN
47 M but the move is deemed by critics to amount to bestowing the land for
free to large firms who managed to buy outcompensation bonds from the
individuals over the past 20 years.
Belev is one of the critics alarmed by the fact that
corporations can grab hold of largeplots of land almost for
free.
"These are mainly pastures and pastures with bushes up
in the mountain, which amounts to almost all pastures near Mount Midzhur,"
he explained.
Belev calculated that the average asking price of the Agriculture
Ministry per decare is about BGN 80, or about BGN 0.08 per square meter.
"This is a ridiculous price keeping in mind that it is
paid for in compensation bonds. On Friday, the compensation bonds were
traded for BGN 0.18 per compensation bond worth BGN 1, which means that the
future owner will acquire the highlandpasture at Midzhur for
less than BGN 0.02 per square meter," he explained referring to the
current price of compensation bonds on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
"When it's about "commassation" (i.e. land consolidation
– editor's note), for example, if the state has 2 decares somewhere, then
selling that is OK. But when it's about 8 000 decares – this means shifting the
ownership of the dominant plot in a certain territory from the state into
private hands," Belev stated.
He further exposed the sale of pastures by the Agriculture
Ministry by explaining that the future buyer who pays BGN 0.08 per square
will get their investment back in just one year simply by receiving funding
from EU Rural Development Program.
The second matter of concern for the environmentalist is
the fact that the Bulgarian state has now started to sell highlands.
"The Bulgarian state has always had a policy of
preserving these highlands in the mountain regions as state ownership,
including by seizing private plots in the early 20th century. Let me
remind you that all of the Vitosha Mountain near Sofia was expropriate in 1926
for a total of BGN 3 M. This was done in order to achieve landconsolidation.
What's happening now will lead to fragmentation which isn't good for
anybody," Belev elaborated.
He said that the tenders of the Agriculture Ministry to
sell 154 000 decares across the country feature large plots of
800-1200 decares, or groups of plots of up to 8000 decares.
"I think that these properties can be managed
efficiently by the state. The state is now shedding key properties, especially
in the highlands – and that will be bad for both the state and the
society," the expert declared.
"Nobody will sell their own land for BGN 0.02
per square meter. I would like to meet the person who would do that," he added.
The Agriculture Ministry has not been available for
a response to Belev's statements, the BGNES news agency reported.
Toma Belev is one of the best known and most active environmentalists in
Bulgaria; he has gained public acclaim with his work as the former director of
the Vitosha National Park near Sofia.
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