Illegal construction has become a serious problem in the Una-Sana Canton. Buildings are being built without proper permits, and construction is also taking place in prohibited locations such as the belt along the Una River. The destruction of the shore with concreting, the construction of weekend houses and large residential buildings have become an everyday occurrence in the area of the town of Bosanska Krupa.
Bosanska Krupa has become a very interesting tourist destination for domestic and foreign tourists. Mainly because of the Una River, which flows through this part of Krajina. However, tourism has brought problems when building accommodation and catering facilities. Most of them are built along the banks of the Una River, which is not permitted.
“That is not one, but I can certainly say over 200 or more illegal buildings, maybe that is a small number, I do not travel along the entire course of the Una. You can see it most during the Una Regatta, I am really sorry, a lot of tourists come then, I can imagine how these people who do not own a river like this, how they react,” says the president of the USR “Krušnica” Admir Bajrić.
One such illegal building was recently demolished, following joint efforts by the municipal inspectorate, city authorities and the fishing association. This required a great deal of effort, as the demolition procedure is complicated, slow and poorly regulated by law. Two years ago, a federal water inspector also visited Bosanska Krupa.
“I wrote about a hundred fines, I can safely say 99 for a hundred marks, one in a thousand, where people pay the fine within eight days, which is at worst half of that fine and continue building,” says Bajrić.
The city administration tells us that they are powerless to take more serious measures against the owners of illegal buildings. The jurisdiction of local authorities is negligible, the Canton and the Federation pass legal solutions that favor illegal construction, says the mayor of Bosanska Krupa, Armin Halitović.
“The laws we have are not good. We have an absolute ban on construction in the Una riverbed and in that 15-meter zone, but that’s where it happens the most. The competent federal and cantonal ministries and the water agency should find a solution,” warns Halitović.
Another problem is securing a contractor to demolish illegal structures. No one is responding to the announced public tenders, due to the lack of such companies and the small allocations from the city budget for these needs. Citizens are also outraged by the ecocide along their river.
Tourism is needed in Bosanska Krupa, but increasing accommodation capacity through illegal construction cannot be the way forward if we put personal interests ahead of preserving nature and protecting one of the most beautiful rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
