February 22, 2023 - Illegal construction has been rampant in Istria for years. It is estimated that there are almost 50,000 illegally constructed buildings on the Istrian Peninsula. And that will finally be stopped. In the area of Mandriol alone, the construction inspection closed 14 construction sites last week, and the City of Vodnjan issued decisions on the removal of these illegal structures.
As HRT writes, there are more than 3,000 such and similar facilities in the Vodnjan region. The city decided to put an end to this and punish illegal builders. Since the beginning of the year, communal wardens have made 300 reports on illegal construction.
"The fact that these construction sites are sealed is the result of about 50 applications that we sent to the construction inspection. This is initiated b,y us, and we see that it has an effect. I think it is the obligation of the city of Vodnjan to do it and to act like that", said Edi Pastrovicchio, the mayor of Vodnjan.
Communal wardens in the Vodnjan area are on site every day. They note about 20 illegal buildings daily. And in the construction inspection, they claim that they continuously conduct inspections in Vodnjan.
Illegal construction everywhere
Illegal construction has been a problem on the Istrian peninsulafor the last 20 years. Nevertheless, illegal construction occurred everywhere, on almost every part of the Istrian coast, even in protected areas. However, no one has yet paid the fine there either.
"We initiated criminal charges, and that was the only thing left to do. At the end of the day, we hope that we will stop illegal construction, at least in our protected areas, and that someone will bear the responsibility, emphasized Silvia Buttignoni, director of the public institution Natura Histrica.
Therefore, Natura Histrica and the County of Istria warned that the system is too lenient towards illegal construction.
"If the state, or the state inspectorate, does not have enough human resources, leave the authority to the regional and local level. I'm sure we'll be able to handle it, deal with it. The legal regulation in terms of punishment should definitely be changed", said Boris Miletić, the Istrian prefect.
Both the IDS and some Istrian cities and municipalities started a fierce fight against illegal construction. They launched a website - bespravnagradnja.hr where you can see the extent of such construction and report it.
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