Podemos in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has requested the resignation of the director of Conservation and Maintenance of the Tourist Centers, Esteban Nieto, "for authorizing an illegal work in the Cueva de los Verdes." The request has also been supported by the CACT company committee and has been included in the agenda of the Extraordinary Session of the Board of Directors of the EPEL.
Podemos denounced before the Seprona two weeks ago "the destruction of a decorative rock of the pavement of the Cueva de los Verdes by operators of the Tourist Centers themselves without having any permit or license for it and without having requested the mandatory authorization from the Heritage Unit of the Cabildo." Now, the formation has pointed out that "the reports of the Cabildo's Heritage confirm the facts denounced by Podemos before the Seprona, since the destruction of the rock was executed without having the pertinent permits".
According to Podemos, "the work, which did not have any permission from the Heritage Unit, consisted of the destruction of a volcanic piece located at the entrance of the Cave, as stated in the reports prepared by Heritage." "With his approval to the intervention, the director of Conservation skipped the procedure established for the protection of the island's heritage elements, and clearly failed in his work as responsible for the correct conservation of the Tourist Centers," they have pointed out from the formation.
"They cannot be subjected to any intervention without authorization from the Cabildo"
In a statement, Podemos reveals that the Heritage unit of the Cabildo prepared a report on June 12 in which it warned that the realization of interventions in the Cave, "consisting of the lifting of some masonry that make up the paved esplanade located at the entrance and exit of the cave, do not have the respective authorization, and may be subject to a possible infraction."
In addition, according to the formation, the report recalls that the Law of Historical Heritage of the Canary Islands establishes, in its article 55, that "the assets declared of cultural interest, or included in the Inventory of Movable Assets, cannot be subjected to any intervention, interior or exterior, without authorization from the Island Council, after a report from the Island Commission of Historical Heritage", while "the works carried out without complying with the provisions of the previous section will be illegal and the Councils will order their immediate stoppage and other measures aimed at restoring the infringed legality, as well as the opening of the corresponding sanctioning file."
According to Podemos, the Heritage report also establishes that "the Cueva de los Verdes is affected by the protection regime of the Assets of Cultural Interest, as its file was initiated for its declaration with the category of Historical Site through a resolution of 2008 and published in the Official Gazette in 2014.
"We are facing facts that fully justify the request for resignation"
Podemos also explains that the Councilor for Heritage of the Cabildo, Carmen Rosa Márquez, addressed the CEO of the Centers, José Juan Lorenzo, on June 15 to request "that as soon as possible, and within the framework of the possible initiation of a sanctioning file, a report be issued by that Entity on the exposed facts, circumstances thereof, as well as if said action was motivated by any urgency that would have prevented the prior processing of the mandatory authorization, taking into account that said asset is protected with the highest category of protection (Asset of Cultural Interest), which only allows the restoration, conservation and modernization of its facilities."
In addition, the formation points out that "although this latest aggression to the Cueva de los Verdes has been the straw that broke the camel's back, the maintenance work of the Tourist Centers had been questioned for two years by Podemos, who accused the management of worrying more about building new facilities with no relation to the spirit of the Centers, such as the underwater museum, than in investing in the conservation of works that give the island a unique character in the world."
According to the spokesman of Podemos in the Cabildo, Carlos Meca, "we are facing facts that, due to their seriousness, fully justify the request for resignation of the director of Conservation of the Centers, who has had plenty of time to give explanations but still has not done so to this day, and who has shown a null sensitivity with the work that he is in charge of."