The owners of the land near Konjic, on which a mosque was built without permission, reached a verbal agreement with the representatives of the Islamic community in this city that it should not be demolished – as ordered by the institutions, but numerous questions about the irregular construction remain unanswered.
The demolition of the mosque in Ovcari, which was scheduled for Monday, November 7th, was postponed for a month, after the owner of the land on which it was built agreed with the representatives of the Majlis of the Islamic Community of Konjic to pay for the damage to the building that was demolished before the construction of the religious building, as confirmed for the Balkan Research Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH).
Nihad Vrtic says that he will donate the land when he is paid the damages for the building that was demolished on the land he bought. A mosque was built on his land, without the necessary approvals.
The chief imam of the Mejlis in Konjic, Refik Delic, says that a verbal agreement has been reached and that they are waiting for a response from the institutions of the Islamic community in BiH in order to sign the contract.
How the mosque in Ovcari was built without permission
In the demolition order signed by the town planning and construction inspector of the city of Konjic, Sefik Boloban, it is stated that the Islamic community in this city built the mosque without previously obtaining a building permit.
In the decision that BIRN BiH had access to, it was explained that the investors, that is, the Mejlis of the Islamic Community of Konjic, disobeyed the order to stop the works and obtain all construction permits within 60 days.
“In this whole story, the inspectors who, with or without a tip, were supposed to control what was happening on other people’s property, especially if an urban planning permission had already been issued, about which they should have been informed,” noted Omerspahic and explains that the city authorities did not have to cancel the urban planning permission because its effect expires after one year.
Non-implementation of decisions of institutions
Efendija Delic told that in the Majlis they considered that they had the right to property. He explains that in 1994, the municipal authorities assigned them a residential building in Ovcari for the needs of the mosque and that since then they have been considered conscious owners.
He stated that in 1999 they tried to register the land with the Majlis as the owner and that they contacted “ZGP”.
“In 2017, we received urban planning approval, which, of course, was conditional on resolving the property and legal relations before the start of construction. It was agreed with the representatives of the municipality of Konjic, with the then mayor, that the works will proceed, and that this problem will be solved at the same time,” Delic said.
When the land was bought by a private company, it wanted to donate it to the Majlis, says Delic. Later buyer Adnan Vrtic had a similar intention, he adds. But lawyer Sean Buturovic, who is representing Vrtic, says that the Mejlis used the mosque, despite the decision on the ban.
The demolition of the building was scheduled for Monday, November 7th, but after an agreement between the parties, it was postponed for another month, the owner of the land and the representative of the Majlis confirmed for BIRN BiH, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
