Question of the city councilor Amalia Toka

Question of the city councilor Amalia Toka, to the City Council of Rafina-Pikermi To the President of the Municipal Council Mr. Stefos To the Mayor Mr. Christopoulos To the Deputy Mayor Mrs Papadimitriou 27/2/14 Huge scandal of encroachment on forestland at Dasamari (part of Penteli mountain) and public land at Drafi, by a business group APOLLO CAPITAL GROUP invite, through their website [http://apollocapitalgroup.gr], real estate investors and especially Russian and Chinese funds to submit their proposals in order to participate in their investment plan on public land and forestland located within the administrative boundaries of the municipality of Rafina-Pikermi.

More specifically, the plan of the above mentioned company has to do with i. the encroachment, privatisation and alteration of the legal status of the forestland at Dasamari (between Drafi & Dioni-Eolis) to residential area, although this land has been designated by Law reforestable. ii. the encroachment of a communal acreage of 156 decares (15,6 hectares) of land in Drafi which belongs to the municipality of Rafina-Pikermi. On their website there is a map of Dasamari (part of the Penteli mountain forest) and of the communal area of 156 decares in Drafi. Both areas appear for sale under the arbitrary toponyms "APOLLO ESTATE OF ATTICA ATHENS" and "APOLLO DRAFI". In their presentation it is stated that these two areas, which are for sale, constitute an "ideal" zone where luxurious mansions and villas will be created for the new elit society of Athens. The new settlements, they maintain, will be within easy driving distance "of El. Venizelos Airport, Rafina Port, shopping malls, supermarkets etc". In addition there is a table providing information about the size of each land plot in sq.m., their building terms and their prices, which is outrageous because the whole region is impossible to have been divided into land plots (since it is not included in the official urban plan).

Bearing in mind all the above we would like to pose the following questions: 1. What kind of short as well as long term measures is our City Council going to take in order to prevent the unacceptable encroachment of this piece of woodland in Dasamari, which is part of Penteli mountain, and of the communal area of 156 decares in Drafi by APOLLO CAPITAL GROUP? 2. What legal action is the City Council going to take, so as to denounce the procedures and conditions under which these areas (Dasamari that is designated by Law as forest and non-residential zone and the communal area in Drafi) are being claimed by individual businessmen?

3. What action is the City Council going to take in order to safeguard the official attribute and status of this part of Penteli mountain (Dasamari) as forest and contribute to the reforestation of the burnt forest.

The city councilor Amalia Toka (Translation: Emily Christaki)