Madrid City Council has until today to detail to the judge the environmental impact of the mascletá scheduled in Madrid Río for this Sunday.
The Contentious Administrative Court number 8 awaits the allegations of the council after a complaint from the animal association Salvando Peludos, which has requested the precautionary suspension of the event due to the damage it will cause to the environment and its species, close to Manzanares, renatured for many years, and the Casa de Campo, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).
The mascletá, which will detonate more than 300 kilos of gunpowder, has raised controversy in the capital. The co-spokesperson for Más Madrid in Cibeles, Eduardo Fernández Rubiño, denounced this Wednesday that Madrid Destino, the municipal company in charge of the event, has not even awarded the contract. “A closed file does not exist as such,” the company says in a letter signed the day before, without specifying the cost of the service or the required reports and permits. “They answer me by admitting that four days before it is held there are no reports, no permits, no contracts, no environmental impact,” the councillor said on social networks.
Animal associations have cried foul over the damage that the festival will cause to the fauna of the area, which grew exponentially after the renaturalisation of the river. The law firm Derecho y Animales, which defends Salvando Peludos, filed an appeal in court to provisionally suspend the mascletá . The complaint aims to achieve a postponement and a change of location, initially planned for Puente del Rey.
The city council has until 11:00 on Friday to make its allegations. Sources from the office explain that the argument focuses on two issues. On the one hand, the alleged violation of legislation for the protection of species, especially birds that live in the area of Madrid Río. According to the studies presented in the document, these exceed one hundred and the impact and stress caused would be notable. Secondly, they point out the absence of reports that support the event together with a BIC. The alleged damage to the environment has also been denounced by Ecologistas en Acción, which appeals to the consequences for the species of Manzanares and Casa de Campo.
José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced the mascletá almost a year ago, before the municipal elections on May 28. The mayor of the capital promised the event if his party partner, María José Catalá, took over the baton of command in Valencia. Once the victory of the PP was confirmed, and within the framework of an agreement for tourism collaboration between the two cities, the councillor promoted a gigantic party of firecrackers and detonations.
The mayor of Madrid denied this Wednesday the alleged irregularities pointed out by the opposition and assured that the file is ready. “Both the mascletá file and the reports are awaiting final approval. Therefore, the file is still being formed,” the media previously stated. Almeida also highlighted the tourist value of the event and reminded Más Madrid that the Bollywood festival that Manuela Carmena organised years ago was more expensive and had less impact. “The AVE trains that come from Valencia are full much more frequently than other Sundays and there are more than 50 peñas falleras that will come to Madrid. The event has aroused great expectations,” added the councillor.
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