The Municipal Socialist Group of Madrid, led by Reyes Marotowent to the environmental prosecutor’s office this Thursday to denounce the construction of the M-40 crematorium “for an alleged offense against the environment and public health with the granting of this license”.
This was shared in media statements collected by Europa Press. “This is a crematorium that, without a doubt, affects the health of neighbors and represents a brutal rejection on the part of the citizens of Usera and Villaverde. We consider that there is a violation of article 45 of the Spanish Constitution, which charges public authorities with protecting health and the environment, in this case the city of Madrid,” Maroto said.
In this sense, the socialist municipal spokesperson accused the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, of “hiding behind officials and the obligation to comply with the decision” of the Fifth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court.
It should be remembered that during the summer it became known that Cibeles had granted the planning permission to the Parcesa company for the installation of a crematorium oven in funeral home M-40. Although the city council stated then, and continues to do so, that it did not agree with the project, it maintained that gave permission to comply with a judicial sentence of the Supreme Court. If the resolution is not respected, municipal officials responsible for implementing this decision could be accused of “crime of disobedience”.
“THE The sentences are there to be carried out and of course we are not going to put any civil servant in a situation of risk. of Madrid City Hall because Ms. Maroto understands that this is the way to proceed,” declared Thursday the Deputy Mayor, Inma Sanz, during the press conference following the Government Meeting.
“The sentence is not binding”
The PSOE emphasizes that the Supreme Court resolution indicates that the estimate of the appeal “it cannot lead, without further delay, to the granting of the license requested by the applicant” and “orders the feedback of actions so that the competent body of the Administration can resolve in a reasoned manner the request made by the requesting entity”.
“What the Supreme Court decision says is that the municipal council is condemned to better justify the decision to build or not the crematorium. In no case does this ruling oblige the Town Hall to build the crematorium.. Therefore, I believe that the mayor must explain a completely wrong interpretation of a phrase,” Maroto said.
“We are already a little tired of the trilerism of Mr. Almeida, who when he has a problem always looks for somewhere to hide, either with civil servants or by accusing other administrations. And I believe that the responsibility of a mayor is to take responsibility for the decisions he makes in person because it is a bad decision that threatens the health of Madrilenians,” he added.
Once the complaint was filed, Reyes Maroto told the media that the Municipal Socialist Group awaits admission from the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office to give voice to the “citizen rejection” of this installation. The training had previously presented a appeal for review against the granting of planning permission in Parcesa.
The socialists also argue that the crematorium permit application was submitted in 2015 and that, therefore, “it is not the Air Quality and Sustainability Ordinance that governs, but rather the previous regulations , that is to say the General Ordinance on the Protection of the Urban Environment of 1985“.
This regulation from the 80s of the last century, in its article 55.3, stipulates that ovens for cremation of corpses “they must be installed near funeral homes so that the distance between the emission source and homes is not less than 250 meters“Only in the case where the incinerator project would guarantee the safety of the annoying or unhealthy activity could the requirement of 250 meters be ignored,” they specify.
In this case, “the cremation of corpses produces emissions of carbon monoxide, solid particles, mercury, cadmium, lead, hydrogen chloride and nitrogen oxide, substances that are highly toxic to the body. man. Despite the filtration systems, the technology has not yet made it possible to completely eliminate these emissionsthat is to say, there is no incinerator that technically allows zero emissions. »
The vice-mayor, for her part, declared that the spokesperson for the PSOE “he doesn’t want to understand or he’s just lying” concerning the M-40 crematorium, after bringing this matter before the environmental prosecutor’s office.
