Georgian Manganese Case Judge Asked to Examine Chiatura Condition on Site

Georgian News offers you the statements by the Green Alternative and Center of Civil Activities verbatim:

“As you know, by the decision of May 16, 2023, the special management regime introduced in Georgian Manganese LLC by the decision of the Administrative Board of Tbilisi City Court on May 8, 2020, has been extended for 2 more years, until May 9, 2025, under the same terms and conditions.

We believe that the decision to extend the term of the special management regime contradicts the goal of timely fulfillment of license terms, the achievement of which was the reason for the introduction of this regime into the enterprise; Moreover, this decision contributes to the extreme damaging of the living environment of people in Chiatura, destruction of residential and agricultural land, and endangerment of health and life.

After the appointment of a special manager to the factory, the state control of license term fulfillment practically ceased. The supervisory bodies, including you (the court), refrain from policing the activities of Georgian Manganese LLC and fully rely on the reports presented by the state-appointed manager (to this day, we have no data on the extent of damages inflicted to the environment since 2017 as a result of company activity), which makes the ore enrichment and extraction works in Chiatura an extremely opaque and closed-off operation. It is worth noting that the reports on the implementation of the plan submitted by the manager, apart from containing information that is completely irrelevant to his duties, often present an essentially false picture that is completely detached from the real situation in Chiatura.

Since the introduction of a special management regime into the enterprise, the conditions in terms of both river pollution and soil contamination and degradation not only did not improve but radically worsened, which amounts to a situation equivalent to an ecological disaster at the site.

It was the manager you appointed who began to implement new methods and standards for mass mineral extraction. Without agreeing on mining plans with regulatory bodies, the record-breaking rate of ore extraction and the emergence of open pits have directly accelerated the damage to the local natural and social environment. 6 years after the introduction of the temporary state-management regime, as a result of the company activities, the villages of Itkhvisi and Shukruti suffered irreversible damage and are facing utter destruction. As a result of mineral extraction works being carried out from under them, the villages practically no longer have a foundation, the ground is collapsing and residential houses are falling into depths of dozens of meters. Many of the houses in these villages, that have not yet sunk into the ground, are cracked or bent to the point where they are no longer habitable. The lives and health of local residents are endangered more and more every day.

Whenever the court (you) makes a ruling, there is never any research and evaluation into one of the main problems in the region today, the open-pit mining of ore by the company in populated areas.

As a result of the appointment of a special manager and open-pit quarrying by the company in populated areas, multiple villages - Khalipauri, Tabagrebi, Mghvimevi, Darveti, Rgani, and others - are facing irreversible damage. In some areas of these settlements, where people still remain despite extremely difficult conditions, there is no longer a safe road to reach by car. As a result of extensive mining of lands, the internal roads of the villages are so damaged that even walking is dangerous after bad weather. In populated areas, a few meters from residential houses, huge ditches abandoned by Georgian Manganese LLC are filled with water. Land subsidence is frequent in the vicinity of the quarries. The area is not lit during the dark. In 2020, 30-year-old Giorgi Ghughunishvili died in the village of Darkhveti in exactly such conditions.

Most of the internal rural roads have been turned into dirt, conceiving and triggering landslides and endangering the lives and health of local residents, including children who have to walk about 3 kilometers to attend compulsory schooling in Khalipauri.

Artificial footpaths are carved through industrial waste, which is permeated by a strong smell, especially during high humidity and continuous bad weather. Presumably, after subterranean layers of land are mixed up with the surface, heavy metal sulfides gradually undergo hydrolysis, and hydrogen sulfide is released, which causes the smell.

Due to roads being mangled in many areas of Khalipauri and Tabagrebi, it is physically impossible for emergency services or fire and rescue brigades to reach those areas. Consequently, people living in these areas permanently or seasonally will not have access to state emergency services if necessary.

As for the license terms for the enrichment of mined ore, as you are aware, none of the conditions have been met; the new enrichment plant is still not operational and the issue of waste disposal is still unresolved. Moreover, the special manager took it upon himself to sell the facility instead of fulfilling the obligation.

The special manager decided to remove the sludge from the Kvirila River without agreeing with the National Environmental Agency and pass off this action as an environmental protection measure. The removed sludge was disposed of in gross violation of regulations.

The current conditions in Chiatura violate the fundamental constitutional right of citizens to live in a healthy environment, which, according to the practice of the European Court, constitutes a violation of Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention.

In addition to the fact that the ruling of May 16, 2023, by the court (you) does not reflect the current situation in Chiatura and the needs of the local population, it is not in line with the requirements of current legislation.

We believe that in the conditions where there is no main claim in the case and the dispute has been resolved, it is essentially unclear what the court uses the temporary ruling to ensure; Also, we believe that your (court's) approach and interpretation of Article 22, Clause 17 of the Law on Licenses and Permits contradicts Article 29 of the Constitution. The said norm is interpreted and applied in such a way that the court can extend the term of the temporary manager (temporary state-management regime) indefinitely, practically for life, when he is failing to fulfill his duties and the situation on site is not improving. Under such an approach, it is irrelevant why the ruler doesn't/can't fulfill his duties, or whether environmental damage has occurred during his watch.

Based on all the above, we believe that the temporary management regime failed to achieve its objectives and exacerbated the already-dire situation in Chiatura to the point of an environmental disaster. Therefore, there are no legal or factual grounds for the extension of the term.

We request you take this statement into consideration and in accordance with Article 1, Section 2 of the Administrative Procedure Code of Georgia and Article 120 of the Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, review the situation in Chiatura in person (at least in the villages mentioned in this statement). Based on Articles 123 and 204 of the Civil Procedure Code, we are ready, if desired, to get involved in the on-site inspection as specialists, to help you, and inform you about the crimes and inhumane acts committed by the company under the leadership of the temporary manager.