The fight against the construction of the small hydroelectric power plant “Stalać” on the South Morava near Stalać gained special weight when the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated an administrative dispute, on the proposal of the organization Polekol, on November 26, 2021. The lawsuit demanded the annulment of the Decision for geological research of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, issued to the company Bonis Eko Stalać for the construction of the MHP. The final point on this procedure was put by the Administrative Court, which accepted the complaint of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic and annulled the Decision with its verdict.
The Republic’s Public Prosecutor filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court requesting the annulment of the decision in question because the act endangered the public interest. This Decision enables field research for the needs of MHE construction in the area of the ecological corridor of international importance and part of the ecological network. The Supreme Court of Cassation, among others, decided on this case.
The Law on Nature Protection stipulates that all procedures initiated to resolve requests related to the construction of MHE in a protected nature area are suspended ex officio. Nature is an asset of general interest for the Republic of Serbia and any possibility of endangering nature, natural values and balance represents a violation of public interest.
The area where the construction of the MHE “Stalać” was planned is located in the ecologically important area of the Mojsinjski mountains and the Stalać gorge. The same area is also part of the ecological network and on South Morava, which is an ecological corridor of international importance.
With the annulment of this Decision, a significant step was taken towards respecting nature as an area of public interest, which deserves legal protection and security. This is another indication that we should never give up on the institutional struggle and that it can be just as important as the one on the ground.