With the expected large majority, the residents of General Toshevo decided not to extract oil and gas on the territory of the municipality. In a local referendum on Sunday, nearly 97% of voters said “yes” to a proposal by the municipal council not to approve such projects. The poll was initiated by Mayor Valentin Dimitrov in connection with Rusgeocom BG’s plans to extract natural gas in the region, after the company’s investment proposal met with massive opposition from local people during public hearings.
A similar referendum with a similar result was organized earlier this year in the other part of Bulgaria – Trun, where residents rejected the Euromax Services project to develop the gold deposit near the city. Overall, however, the results of such consultations have a contentious legal weight.
The project of Rusgeocom BG, whose indirect owners are the owner of Overgas Inc. Sasho Donchev and his family, envisages extraction of natural gas from the Spasovo field. At the end of October, the company organized a series of public discussions on its investment proposal, which, however, provoked protests from local people. Their worries are that the extraction will pollute the water and endanger agriculture in the region. As a result, the mayor proposed, and the municipal council quickly agreed to a consultation.
Source: Capital Daily
