The Environmental Supervision Department has summoned activist Rosto Zarandia to the Department’s Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti office and informed him in writing that he is being summoned in connection with the removal of fertile soil on the territory of the village of Didini in the Zugdidi municipality.
Rosto and another activist created a large inscription Megobari Act on a field near the Anaklia port project site.
The 380-meter-long geoglyph (an image on the ground) was intended to remind both local and international audiences of the significance of the “Megobari Act,” which is awaiting a vote in the Senate. The bill was prepared by Congressman Joe Wilson.
According to the letter received from the Environmental Supervision Department, Rosto is required to appear at the office on November 24.
In an interview with Batumelebi, Rosto stated that “no fertile soil was removed.” They only created the image and did not remove or take anything “everything remained there.”
Under the Administrative Offenses Code, removing fertile soil without permission is punishable by a fine. It will be interesting to see how the Supervision Department interprets whether fertile soil was actually removed in this case, given that the activists did not take or relocate anything from the site.
Experts explain that the removal of fertile soil means taking away the biologically rich top layer of the soil, discarding it, or moving it elsewhere.