Mykonos files getting buried
The state appears inconsistent with the commitments made to restore legality in Mykonos and as a result arbitrary constructions are continuing with impunity, according to a letter sent in May by the island’s Mayor Christos Veronis to the Ministry of the Interior, describing the “deadlock” with the municipality’s planning department.
Kathimerini has learned that the island’s police have in the period from November 2023 to June 2024 carried out, either following complaints or ex officio, 197 inspections for urban planning irregularities. In 160 cases police notified the town planning department, which is responsible for the penalties, to stop works, impose fines etc.
However, the department conducted inspections on just four of these buildings.
The re-establishment of urban planning in Mykonos was decided in May 2023, in the wake of complaints about urban planning abuses and the beating of archaeologist Manolis Psarros, with the developments however conflicting with the state’s pledge to restore legality.
A month and a half ago, the previous head of the island’s planning department was replaced by decision of the mayor of Mykonos, having previously submitted his resignation. Additionally, a team from the National Transparency Authority visited the island and audited the operations of the Mykonos Town Planning Department in response to letters sent by the municipal authority to the Ministry of the Interior, and more precisely to the deputy minister of the interior, Theodore Livanios. The report’s drafting is anticipated to be finished soon. According to some reports, the independent authority’s auditors discovered, among other things, that the service’s current staff members lack proper training and experience.
In his letter, Veronis said that “despite the municipal authority’s unquestionable will to crack down on arbitrary construction, the situation has literally come to an impasse.”
The mayor even turned against specific employees of the service, complaining that they refuse to perform their duties, with the written orders of the municipal authority to handle pending cases.
“There is a case of a property being built without a building permit. Due to the absence of checks, it is possible that the owner will soon complete the construction work,” a police source told Kathimerini.
