Absolutely illegal, without permission, trees were cut down in the heart of the Boris garden.

This was said by the Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova

Yordanka Asenova Fandakova was born in Samokov. She completed her secondary education in the 35th Russian School before the Metropolitan Municipal Council (SOS).

Her hearing is in connection with the illegal logging next to the Maria Luisa bathhouse. 

Fandakova commented that on February 1, we woke up with dozens of cut trees on the grounds of the "Maria Luisa" bathhouse. In her view, this is "brutal disregard for the rules and a crime against all of us who love and want Borisova Garden to be preserved." 

The head of the SOS wants an explanation from Traicho Traikov about the illegal logging in the Boris garden

According to her, last Wednesday the owner of the grounds of the bath allowed himself to clean a part of the property without caring about rules and regulations.

Therefore, without hesitation, I ordered the imposition of the largest possible fine under the Law on the Organization and Development of the Metropolitan Municipality in the amount of BGN 100,000 on the owner of the company "Park Maria Luisa", Fandakova explained. 

She added that she received the report about cut trees on the grounds of the bathhouse on the morning of February 1 from the director of the municipal enterprise "Parks and Gardens" Milena Vaseva. Her employees are working next door to clean up the grounds, which we joined together with Mr. Traikov to the park, added the mayor and pointed out that she immediately ordered the director of the "Green Systems" Directorate to go to the place and make an inspection, and the ecologist of the "Sredets" region, whose territory the field falls on, was also called. 

By the early afternoon, they had drawn up a finding protocol for over 20 trees cut down on the spot in the north-eastern part of the field, Fandakova said and explained that later on the basis of the tree file, the exact number of trees was established – 28.

Colleagues from the "Green System" directorate established that on January 26, 2023, the "Sredets" district issued a permit to cut down 11 trees on private land, noted Fandakova.

She clarified that it is about the five conifers described in detail in the expert assessment attached to the order, which the area's ecologist found to be completely dry, and six broad-leaved trees that grew on concrete stairs and retaining walls.

The inspection of the "Green System" directorate established that no trees were removed from the area under the issued permit, and all were cut down without any permit document, Fandakova also said. On the spot, they instructed the workers to stop any felling activity. , she explained.

Fandakova reported that on the evening of February 1st and 2nd Vaseva went to the site again, due to doubts that the logging was continuing, and a representative of the "Sredets" region also came to the site during the night. Due to doubts that the unregulated logging could continue, I sent a team of the Municipal Police to periodically patrol the field at night and this continued in the following days, Fandakova explained. 

On the morning of February 2nd, Mrs. Vaseva informed me that there were machines on the private land again and we started a second inspection in the part of the land towards Yavorov Alley," the mayor announced. On my order, the director of the Municipal Construction Control Directorate also took part in it. " Mr. Tsvetan Todorov, Fandakova said and explained that his teams found both cut trees and branches, as well as excavation activities, tracks from heavy machinery and ground leveling activities, in her words, most likely with the aim of cover the tracks of felled trees. 

That's why we filed a report with the SDVR and the prosecutor's office to take measures within their competence, Fandakova explained.

She pointed out that by the end of the day the act of administrative violation and the letter informing the company that its representative should receive the act and imposition of the sanction had been prepared.

Without any hesitation, I impose the most severe sanction under the law, because in this case we are talking about a deliberate violation of the rules, and that in a terrain that falls within the security zone of the part of Borisova gradina, which has been a Garden and Park Art Reserve since 1988 , the mayor also stated. 

Yordanka Fandakova