Cambiemos Orihuela has criticised the former government of Orihuela, then run by the Partido Popular (PP), in coalition with Ciudadanos (C´s), for what the group considers “administrative bungling” by PP and Cs, when it comes to obtaining the land, for the expansion of the Orihuela Costa water treatment plant, by processing by decree a procedure that had to go through plenary session, for which the procedure could be flawed from the start.

“It is clear that the expansion of the Orihuela Costa treatment plant is an urgent need for the municipality. We cannot risk the current facilities collapsing, causing damage to citizens and the environment. But, what neither the PP nor the Cs can do is bypass the current regulations to facilitate said extension, in manoeuvres that seem more aimed at justifying the approval of certain urban plans, than solving the problems of the citizenry. The regulations are to be complied with and not to be skipped by the bullfighter”. This is how the municipal formation has manifested itself, in view of documentation that could indicate that PP and Cs dispense with the legally established procedure, to make the land necessary for the expansion of the Orihuela Costa treatment plant available.

According to the formation, “the first irregularity was committed in April of this year, by the then Councillor for Heritage, Rafael Almagro. The Regulation of Assets of Local Entities, allows the free transfer of municipal assets to other entities, as long as it benefits the citizenry. But said assignment must be formalised in a plenary agreement, taken by the majority of the representatives and must be accompanied by reports from the Municipal Secretariat and Intervention. As well. Mr. Almagro ceded the municipal land via decree, something that, although it could be null and void, is definitely a totally irregular decision for dispensing with the legally established procedure.”

“But the irregularities surrounding the land claimed for the expansion of the treatment plant do not end there. The current Councillor for Heritage, Mr. Aíx, at the end of October, notified the owners of the land necessary for said expansion, which again by decree, notified them of the City Council’s intention to expropriate the land from them. All this based on another decree of the Councillor for Infrastructures, Mr. Noguera.” They continue in a statement made public.

This last action from the Department of Heritage, has been answered by the owners of the land, requesting the annulment of the administrative actions for failure to open the corresponding file, a plenary decision to undertake the expropriations, the budget allocated to pay for the land and many other irregularities derived from the decrees of both councillors of Cs, according to Cambiemos Orihuela.

“We do not want to think that these rush to make available the land necessary for the expansion of the treatment plant, is due to the fact that, as is well known, certain urban plans are pending final approval, until it is guaranteed that the facilities of Orihuela Costa, can assume the residual waters of said urbanisations. What is clear is that PP and C´s have been able to incur void decisions of full right, for dispensing with legal procedures in actions aimed at disposing of these lands”, they conclude.