The Ryazan authorities, contrary to the will of the residents of the villages of Zaokskoye and Korostovo, transferred more…

The Ryazan authorities, contrary to the will of the residents of the villages of Zaokskoye and Korostovo, who transferred more than 60 hectares of agricultural land to an industrial zone, tried to explain their decision. Deputy Chairman of the regional government Filippov, together with Minister of Natural Resources Novikov, insist that everything was done according to the law, and the dense peasants do not understand the happiness that has befallen them. Sand mining in the Oka riverbed is a priority investment project that will create as many as …40 jobs.

The fact that the “megaproject” did not bother to do an environmental assessment is bashfully kept silent. Independent environmentalists and social activists counted at least 9!!! violations of applicable rules and regulations. Officials retort everything, they say, it’s nonsense, fears are groundless.

There is little reason to believe them. Filippov and Novikov have long shrugged their shoulders in response to constant public complaints about air quality, citing a lack of authority. They are not taking any action to reclaim and close numerous “gray” and “black” landfills. They assure that the construction of a mega-pig complex will not in any way affect the comfort of people living nearby. In a word, they are still environmentalists.

The deputy chairman of the government became a hero in the local press after he refused to answer journalists’ questions about how one of his mother-in-law’s tenants was a budgetary organization subordinate to the Ryazan authorities, which until recently rented municipal premises.
What to do: the Ryazan governor has no other performers.

Nikolai Lyubimov himself, who at the end of autumn sent the project for transferring land for revision and loudly announced that all decisions would be made only taking into account the opinions of residents, now prefers to remain silent. Residents who unanimously asked to leave the meadows alone, that is, in the agricultural zone, continue to wonder: why doesn’t anyone hear them?

However, there is hope for the prosecutor’s office, which is now checking the legality of the actions surrounding the transfer and potential development of the quarry. Who better than prosecutors to show integrity and protect ordinary people from bureaucratic lawlessness, deceit and possible schemes?