The inhabitants of the village of Ranče in Pljevlja have requested the Montenegrin police to vacate the border crossing of the same name connecting Serbia and Montenegro, as they have yet to receive compensation for the land expropriated from them in 2020.

For years, they have been in conflict with the government due to dissatisfaction with the compensation offered for their property taken for the establishment of the new border crossing at Ranče.

“Our land has been seized without any compensation. We have lost our pastures, and everything has been destroyed. An electrical transformer station was installed illegally on our land, and the takeover extended beyond the designated expropriation limits. Even during the communist era, such actions were not taken,” the frustrated residents of Ranče expressed in a statement.

They have reached out to various state bodies, but no advancements have been made.

“We haven’t directed our complaints to anyone specifically; everyone is just passing the responsibility around. We are also planning to reach out to European Union representatives, who funded the border crossing’s construction. The local municipality has been the only entity to make progress by constructing a new access road,” the villagers complained.

They are demanding that the border police vacate their properties until the expropriation process is finalized; otherwise, they may resort to drastic actions, including blocking the border crossing.

The residents were dissatisfied with the financial offers for their land, prompting them to file grievances with relevant governmental authorities.

“Initially, the land was valued at six euros per square meter. We appealed to the higher authority, the Ministry of Finance, which increased the price to 6.06 euros per square meter. Naturally, that amount was still inadequate, so we appealed yet again. At that time, we proposed a reasonable price because in 2018, land was expropriated for the expansion of the Pljevlja – Prijepolje highway at a rate of 8.25 euros. Inflation has rendered that earlier price irrelevant,” the locals highlighted.

They mentioned that the Administrative Court, after they filed a lawsuit, sent the case back for reassessment; however, since June of last year, the Real Estate Administration has not conducted any new evaluations.

“The Real Estate Administration keeps pushing everything to the Ministry of Interior, claiming their consent is needed. However, as per our understanding, consent isn’t required; the Ministry of Interior should merely provide comments on the new assessment,” the residents stated.

Last May, they briefly obstructed the border crossing between Montenegro and Serbia since they had not received any compensation for parts of their expropriated properties, despite several years having passed since the construction began.

The new Ranče border crossing for international passenger and freight traffic, located on the Pljevlja – Prijepolje route, was inaugurated in August 2023. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted by then-Minister of Internal Affairs, Filip Adžić, alongside the representative from the European Union Delegation to Montenegro, Ingve Engström.

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