MP Challenges Island Bridge, Minister Blames Citizens for Environmental Harm
A parliament member has re-raised the question of viability of the planned Saaremaa bridge, saying that officials are manipulating the islanders, and that the project is not realistic in the current environmental, social and economic context.
The MP's personal letter to his constituency was in reaction to comments by the minister of economics, who, having newly reclaimed his title as 2011's enemy of the environment, tried to pass on his blame to the residents of Saaremaa, reported Saarte Hääl.
Most islanders support the plan to build a bridge to the mainland - one of the reasons environmentalists shunned him - said Juhan Parts, minister of economic affairs. "[I] am a public servant and I do not have the authority to tell the island residents, and the many proponents who have planned this project over several years, that I am simply not going to follow through with it," he said.
But the islanders are being manipulated, they were told in a letter sent out on Thursday by Parliament member Tõnis Palts, who shares a political party, IRL, with the minister.
"Instead of dreaming about a bridge, we should continue improving the ferry service to make it even cheaper and more convenient for island residents," said Palts.
To improve the already existing system of subsidized travel for island residents, ferry should only charge vehicles, giving car-less passengers a free ride, the MP said. He also called for daily flights.
On Monday, the Council of Environmental NGOs named Minister Parts the most environmentally unfriendly persona of 2011 for the second year in a row.
In addition for the minister's preference of oil shale over sustainable energy sources, the council cited the Saaremaa bridge - currently still in the planning stages - as an environmentally hostile project that has gone forward despite sharp criticism from environmental experts. The minister countered, however, that the government's environmental agencies have backed the bridge.
Ott Tammik