Kolašin entrepreneur Zoran Rajković, along with family, employees, and some locals, once again blocked the road from Mateševo to Kolašin, near the so-called “blue bridge”, today. The blockade lasted from 10 to 10:45 AM, during which Rajković reiterated his claims of years of obstruction and inconsistent interpretations of the urban planning and technical conditions (UTU) he received seven years ago.

“My lawyer is preparing a lawsuit against the Municipality of Kolašin. I will seek compensation for all these years and will demand that the urban planning officials, who have misled me for so long and obstructed my construction, be held criminally responsible. In some instances, I suspect there are elements of corruption, and some officials have acted this way due to incompetence,” Rajković stated.

He pointed fingers at former secretaries for spatial planning, communal affairs, and traffic—Ivana Grujić, Ljiljana Rakočević, Tanja Bulatović, an employee of that secretariat, as well as the current secretary, Mirela Drašković—claiming they are to blame for his situation.

Rajković also referenced Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević’s statement concerning the protests, where she allegedly said that investors are blocking roads due to a lack of building permits.

“I must counter the Minister of Transport’s claim that investors are protesting due to not receiving building permits. I am protesting due to suspicions of corruption among certain Municipality officials. I have received a UTU that has been valid by law since 2018. The prosecution should also inquire why they did not permit me to build. I will demand that they be held criminally accountable for the damages they are inflicting on me. I am suffering millions in damages, and if that isn’t a valid reason to protest, I don’t know what is,” he said.

Rajković expressed frustration that neither the previous nor the current government has taken the initiative to investigate the entire situation. He believes it shows that the citizens of Kolašin are not a priority for political parties, except when they seek votes.

Protesters in Kolašin carried banners stating: “Stop the urban mafia”, “Let us Kolasinians live in our city”, “You gave everything to foreign investors”, “Corrupt officials, lacking knowledge, dictate the future of Kolašin”…

Participants in the blockade accused the local government of favoring “outside” investors, claiming that the residents of Kolašin are discriminated against regarding construction regulations on their own properties.

“Every citizen of Kolašin has been affected by the actions of local and state authorities, as they serve investors rather than the public. They declared about 20,000 square meters of my property a green zone on Bašanje Brdo and are not permitting me to build more floors in my house. Four neighboring buildings have six or seven floors, but I’ve only been granted a ground floor and an upper floor. That’s disgraceful,” asserted Novica Sudar.

He claimed the government “is forcing the people of Kolašin to become criminals by building on state land, as they are denied the right to utilize their own properties for residential construction.”

Rajković noted that back in 2016, during a public auction, he purchased a building in the city center (the old Bošković Hotel) and has been actively trying to obtain reconstruction or new construction permits since 2023. He indicated that, “if the Municipality aims to protect the building as cultural heritage, they had numerous opportunities to act, as there were six failed auctions prior to my purchase.”

He elaborated to “Vijesti” that he submitted a new request for the correction of UTU conditions at the end of January this year. He claims he waited nearly four months for a response, only to receive a rejection at the end of April. Rajković reminded that the building he purchased is not officially protected and is on the brink of collapse if immediate measures are not taken.

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