Demolitions on forestland put on hold
The government on Thursday submitted an amendment indefinitely putting on hold all demolitions of illegal buildings on forestland, arguing that it will wait for the country’s forestland register to be completed and any disputes to be settled on that basis before allowing demolitions to take place.
Critics argue that this process could take decades to complete as just 22.5 percent of the required maps have been drawn so far and of these a mere 0.56 percent have been rubber-stamped.
The amendment was initially proposed by Interior Minister Panayiotis Kouroublis following a series of complaints from local authorities and owners whose properties were slated for demolition in the eastern Attica suburbs of Rafina and Artemida, challenging the legality of the decision.
