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The long-standing problem of polluted air in Belgrade has not yet been solved. Despite warnings from environmental experts that the situation is worrying and that it is becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, city leaders are not reacting. Instead, they decided to announce a public tender for the purchase of two air purifiers, which should reach the address of the Old Palace, where, by the way, the offices of the mayor, his deputy and employees of the municipal administration are located. The Center for Local Autonomy also states that the devices cost around 54,000 euros.
Belgrade keeps pace with the European metropolises, this is how city leaders often talk about the capital. After the New Year’s lighting, you can follow the steps, but depending on the air quality, it is difficult. It is so polluted, that according to data from world agencies, Belgrade has been the world champion in air pollution on several occasions. Despite that, city leaders decided to have clean air in their offices just for themselves and their employees.
“It is simply incredible that the City Council ordered two air purifiers for the Old Palace where the mayor, deputy and president of the Assembly sit. It is incredible that they understood the fight against pollution as a fight for clean air in their offices. I will remind you that these two devices will be paid. 6 million 300 thousand dinars, and that the plan to combat pollution was paid below ten million ”, says Nikola Jovanović of the Center for Local Autonomy.
On December 8, a public procurement call for two air sterilization devices was published, where it is explicitly stated that they must be delivered to the Old Palace, which is located at 2 Dragoslava Jovanovića street, where the city administration is located. . And it is unknown why the decision was made to invest around 54 thousand euros in cleaner air devices and what is the reason, because Deputy Mayor Goran Vesić did not answer that question for the H1.
The Environmental Regulatory Institute points out that it is unacceptable for the city government not to invest money in cleaner air for all of Belgrade, but only for its cabinets.
This is simply something that at least does not send a good message when it comes to the care of the city of Belgrade for the health and cleanliness of the air of the inhabitants of the city, so they confirm that it is necessary to purify the air in their premises, but on the other hand and reduce pollution in Belgrade ”, believes Mirko Popović from RERI.
The “Let’s not drown Belgrade” initiative says that the city government does not have the ambition to solve the problem of polluted air, because no environmental project, which has been launched so far, has paid off. They add that by buying the device, the leaders show that the public is not interested in them.
“The city authorities have absolutely admitted that the air in Belgrade is polluted, if money is already going to be spent on purifiers, it should be where the children are and where they are sick: kindergartens, schools and hospitals, not the administration of the city, “said Biljana. Djordjevic, from Let’s not drown Belgrade.
We have been waiting for cleaner air in Belgrade for years. Despite this, less and less money is allocated from the city’s treasury to solve the problem.
With the proposed budget for 2021, city leaders predicted a reduction in investments by 45 million dinars to reduce pollution, compared to this year’s budget.
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