INIA COMMUNITY leader yesterday issued a stern warning to the government that the aggrieved community “has ways to make them run” to protest against the Akamas plan.
According to Savvas Charalambous, they would have a meeting at the weekend in order to determine their course of action against the government over the next week.
“When we saw the plan, we could not believe our eyes. We submitted eight points to the Cabinet and they gave us false promises about them. This is simply unacceptable. We will be holding a meeting on Saturday and we will decide what drastic measures we will be taking against the plan,” he said yesterday.
According to the plan, which was presented to the media on Tuesday, the villages in the Akamas area will not be allowed to expand to the west of their communities, something that the villagers of Inia are furious about, since they claim it will have a disastrous effect on their community.
Agriculture Minister Fotis Fotiou rejected the community leader’s outbursts, saying instead that the plan was “well-balanced”.
“From the eight points that they submitted, some were implemented but obviously there were some for which we could not do so. Of course we will continue our dialogue with the communities and as was made clear during the press conference on Tuesday, everyone who has his or her reservations over the plan can submit them. There are, however, one or two points that can be discussed further and maybe we can find a solution, but these are the main guidelines,” he said.
Green Party leader Giorgos Perdikis also expressed his concerns over the 20-year overdue plan.
“Allow me to have my reservations. This is for many reasons, such as the nature protection zones, the bird protection zones, the residential development of the area’s western communities, the credibility of the system for the town-planning modernisation of the surrounding villages and of course, the problems that also arise with the transport methods that will be used in the so-called National Park created in Akamas.”
The entire project, which will cost the government more than £16 million, includes the imposition of strict controls on development, based on environmental, architectural and aesthetic aspects, the improvement of the road network connecting the village communities, as well as giving landowners in the area state land in other areas of the Republic worth £140 million.
