The Committee members were greeted by the Mayor of Cacak Milun Todorovic who said that, in the previous period, the City of Cacak has invested great efforts into making progress in terms of environmental protection. He pointed out that intensive work was done on amending planning documents so as to enable the best possible development in this area. Todorovic also briefed the Committee members on specific projects that have been launched on the territory of the City of Cacak as well as in rural areas, concerning the protection of the environment and reduction of air pollution.

MP Marko Parezanovic, who had launched the initiative to have this sitting in Cacak, explained that, after a long while, the local self-government of the City of Cacak can now boast of capital investments in the field of environment, adding that this was a good opportunity for the MPs to see in person the process of recultivation and rehabilitation of the Cacak landfill, works in Ovcar Banja and to discuss environmental topics of crucial importance for the Republic of Serbia.

Mirjana Djokovic, Mayor’s Assistant for Environmental Matters, presented the City of Cacak’s capital projects and environmental work programme. She said that Cacak adopted its environmental strategic plan in 2018, adding that the local self-government adopts a work plan every year, based on umbrella documents in the field. Speaking of Cacak’s work programme, she said it was the joint result of the work of the local self-government units, representatives of public companies and institutions, other organisations and associations, as well as the citizens and volunteers who recognised the significance of environmental protection. The Cacak Public Health Institute monitors the quality of air, water, pollen, noise and land, said the Mayor’s Assistant, and went on to single out project "Our forest-our responsibility" with its 3400 seedlings planted in Cacak and the intention of new planting. Speaking of other projects, the city received 4,600,000 RSD from the state for the forestation of the mining zone, with the City of Cacak co-financing the project with another 1,000,000 RSD. Donors who planted 1,000 Canadian poplar trees in the local community of Konjevici, and Japanese cherry seedlings in the town of Mrcajevci also took part in the project. As regards waste management, Djokovic singled out the public utility company Gradsko zelenilo composting plant, the installation of 35 recycling islands in the rural area and the planned construction of a park in the St. Sava local community, a project worth 37,000,000 RSD. Djokovic said that the City of Cacak had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation under the auspices of the 2017 IPA Primary Waste Selection Support Programme, with the aim of improving waste management in the City of Cacak in accordance with European Union standards and Serbian legislation. The value of the project is 898,000 EUR, with 106,000 EUR in co-financing from the City of Cacak. She said that the preparation of project documentation for the wastewater plant is entering its final phase, with Cacak being the largest founder with a 26.88% share in the Duboko regional waste management system, adding that 65% of the primary selection system in Cacak has been developed, with a constant need to increase the percentage. The Mayor’s Assistant also presented the phases of rehabilitation and reclamation of landfill Prelic.

At the proposal of the Chairman, the Committee members adopted the conclusion that the City of Cacak had developed significant facilities in the field of environmental protection, as well as conducted a series of important related activities.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Prof. Dr Ljubinko Rakonjac and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Jelena Obradovic, Aleksandar Jugovic, Nevenka Kostadinov, Akos Ujhelyi, Jasmina Karanac, Gojko Palalic, Marija Todorovic, Tomislav Jankovic, Vesna Krisanov, Marko Parezanovic and Zarko Bogatinovic, as well as MPs from Cacak Biljana Jakovljevic and Milica Dacic.

After the sitting, the members of the Environmental Protection Committee visited the closed landfill Prelic, currently in the phase of recultivation and greening.

The Committee sitting outside of the National Assembly seat was held under the auspices of project “Strengthening Parliamentary democracy and Inclusive Political Dialogue”, conducted by UNDP with the support of Switzerland.