District council deputy files lawsuit against national park over fishing ban

The former head of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi District Council of Odesa Oblast, Hryhoriy Melnychenko, said he had appealed to the court to cancel the order of the special administration of the Lower Dniester National Nature Park, which introduced a temporary restriction on the stay of people on the banks of the Hlybokyi Turunchuk River on June 15.

The district council deputy posted this on his Facebook page.

According to him, the demands also include the immediate suspension of this order. In addition, according to the deputy, he has prepared an appeal to the Minister of Ecology demanding the dismissal of the deputy head of the national park, Mykola Rozhenko. The MP also said that he had appealed to the police to initiate criminal proceedings against the author of the order.

"My personal opinion is that this national park should be abolished as an illegally created and operating park that violates the rights of territorial communities and people. Dismiss all the lazy people who falsely call themselves employees of the national park," the deputy said.

On June 15, the special administration of the Lower Dniester National Nature Park introduced a temporary restriction on the stay of people on the banks of the Deep Turunchuk River in Odesa Oblast.

It is worth noting that Hryhoriy Melnychenko's relative, Viktor Melnychenko, is the head of the limited liability company Hunter and Fisherman of the XXI Century. In addition, Hryhorii Melnychenko is the chairman of the NGO Society of Hunters and Fishermen of the XXI Century.

In December 2023, the Schemes publication published information that Hryhorii Melnychenko, accused of misappropriation of state property, while still the head of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi District Council in Odesa region, acquired two land plots worth almost a million hryvnias during the full-scale invasion of Russia in 2022.

In September of the same year, the court reduced the bail for the former head of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi District Council, Hryhorii Melnychenko, from UAH 5 million to UAH 800 thousand. Hryhoriy Melnychenko was detained by the SBU on August 10, 2023. According to the investigation, the official, under the pretext of allegedly protecting state property from enemy shelling, seized a TUNA 865 Cabin speedboat with two outboard engines and a car trailer by misleading persons who had the property stored on the territory of the Sauvignon Yacht Club in Odesa and entering false information in documents.

Кирило Бойко