“As long as there is no unified management of the water sector, all institutions are pulling the rug in their direction, whereby the interests of the people remain neglected.” This was said by the Minister of Environment and Water Asen Lichev in the show "Studio Ha" on 7/8 TV.

Asked about the protests by residents of Brestovitsa because of the manganese-contaminated water, he expressed his support. Minister Lichev expressed bewilderment at the fact that the Vacha Dam with a volume of nearly 200 million cubic meters of mountain water is located above the settlement, and still the residents of the village drink polluted groundwater. Asen Lichev informed that he has discussed the problem with the regional governor of Plovdiv.

The Minister also commented on the financial condition of the Ministry: “I found a budget with a 8.5 million BGN deficit in Operational Program “Environment” (OPE) and 1.5 million BGN in the EEA.” He added that the decision by the Council of Ministers from Wednesday is to provide these 8.5 million BGN from the EMEPA.

“Bulgaria’s position regarding the court procedure for excessive amounts of fine particulate matter was also accepted by the Council of Ministers. We plead for the EU to declare us innocent. The fines are 6,000 euro a day”, shared Asen Lichev during the show. He added that the Ministry has opened its doors to NGOs.

You can view the entire interview in Bulgarian HERE.