Defenders of Taman Forest file fifth lawsuit

The fifth lawsuit was submitted by defenders of the Taman Forest in Stavropol, who demand to declare illegitimate the felling of trees in the above forest, where the authorities are building a perinatal centre.

The lawsuit was lodged to the Promyshlenny District Court, Nadezhda Butova, the applicant, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The respondents in the lawsuit are the developer – the Interregional Construction Alliance – and the Ministry of Construction of the Stavropol Territory.

"I've been interested in this subject for long; and I decided to help to restore the rule of law in this case; at least to stop further felling. The importance of urban forests in Stavropol can't be overstated. These are climate-making forests – the place of rest for hundreds of citizens," said Butova.

The perinatal centre "is important for the city, but not at the expense of its 'forest lungs'," she added.

Nadezhda Butova has stressed that she is not against the construction of the centre, but against violations of the law that accompany the construction process. "They violated the Forestry Code of the Russian Federation. Very quickly, just in 1.5 days, without legal compliance of the bordering rules, the land plot, occupied by city forests, changed its function," said Butova.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.