Police are investigating a real estate deal in which the environment minister -- now Portugal's prime minister -- gave the go-ahead in 2001 to chop down 700 protected cork trees to build houses, a sports complex and a shopping mall, the newspaper Publico said Saturday.
LISBON, Portugal — Police are investigating a real estate deal in which the environment minister -- now Portugal's prime minister -- gave the go-ahead in 2001 to chop down 700 protected cork trees to build houses, a sports complex and a shopping mall, the newspaper Publico said Saturday.
Portuguese environmental law states that cork trees can be felled only for construction projects of "unquestionable public value." The sports complex to be built in the town of Setubal 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Lisbon was seen as meeting this requirement.
But environmentalists say the portion of land on which it is to be built has no trees. They say the wooded area would instead be cleared for the shopping mall, thus making the public value argument less solid.
"This document atributed the status of Public Benefit to this real estate development and called for the need to cut down 700 cork trees to enable the construction of a soccer stadium which represents only a very small fraction of the whole development plan," said a communique release by environmentalist association Quercus on Saturday. "This is an unprecedented decision in our country," it added.
The statement also asked that the ministries of Agriculture and Environment present proof of the economic and social interest of the development and its sustainability, as well as showing that there were no alternative locations.
The deal was approved in December 2001 when Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates was the environment minister. It was also approved by the agriculture minister Luis Capoulas Santos.
Police on Saturday made no direct comment about what they might be investigating, but issued a statement saying there was no proof of influence-peddling in the approval given by Socrates and Capoulas Santos.
"In the face of the news published today in Publico newspaper, the police clarifies that there are no elements that allow us to conclude that there was criminal intent of influence-peddling by the individuals mentioned in the story, in the official document that declared the public benefit of the development project," the communique read.
Because of discussions over land ownership and environmental complaints, the project, which awaits governmental ratification, has yet to get under way and no trees have been cut down.
Environmentalists say that if Socrates does not revoke the building permit, they will take the case to court.
Socrates was elected in February as the head of a Socialist administration after general elections that unseated ruling conservatives.
Last week police began probing suspected influence-peddling by three former government ministers who authorized another contested tourism development deal four days before the general election. The deal involves cutting down 2,600 cork trees.
The newspaper Expresso on Saturday reported that the date on the official note allowing the deal had been forged and that the development had actually gotten the go-ahead after elections took place and the conservatives were no longer in power.
Environmentalists got a court order to halt and, after taking power in March, the new Socialist government revoked the license, but some 900 trees had already been knocked down.
Source: Associated Press
