Erection of two schools halted
The construction of two schools on Mt Hymettus, east of Athens, has been halted because they lacked the necessary licenses, it emerged yesterday. The two middle schools, each for nine children only, plus an events hall, were being erected by Paeania Municipality and the School Buildings Organization. The trees that once stood on the site had been cut down. A building permit had been issued by the Markopoulo town-planning office, despite the fact that the forestry service had not given the necessary approval. An investigation by Public Administration General Inspector Leandros Rakintzis is under way to uncover any wrongdoing in the unlawful issuance of the permit. Last September the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, ordered a halt to the construction of 36 residences within a military facility on Mt Hymettus. In February this year, a temporary ban on all construction on the mountain was extended until 2011.
