Residents of Gurras, Pogradec in protest/ Lands of Law 7501 are rented out for agrotourism

2026-02-04 11:47:00, Aktualitet CNA

Residents of Gurras, Pogradec in protest/ Lands of Law 7501 are rented out for

Around 40 families from the village of Gurras have protested in front of the Municipality of Pogradec today, opposing the leasing of land that they claim they have been using for years. According to the residents, the land allocated under Law 7501 has been leased by the municipality to a private investor, who intends to develop agrotourism and fruit growing.

The headman of the village of Gurras, Arjan Çinari, says that some residents once rejected the land due to the inability to afford the taxes, but according to him, it has always been in use by families in the area. He says that today the residents have also been deprived of economic assistance, while the land has been taken away and leased to another entity, without first resolving the ownership conflict. According to the headman, if there is no solution, the residents will continue the protests and blocking the roads is not excluded.

"This parcel of land that was leased was divided according to Law 7501, some refused, some did not. Today, his assistance was cut off, his land was taken away, another person comes and rents it under a contract, and it turns out that he has the land. He came and spoke only with a few residents, but the problem is not solved like that. Residents will rise up in protest, they will block the roads like other times. Today we will go inside the municipality to discuss it ," says Çinari.

Resident Mariglen Krasta also says that he has the land divided by law 7501 and has applied for a certificate of ownership, but his request was rejected by the cadastre. He says that he has paid all the taxes and has had the land planted and fenced, but according to him, the investor has cut down the trees without any explanation. Krasta demands transparency from the municipality on how this decision was made.

"I have land divided by law 7501 and I applied for a certificate. It was rejected, it came out negative because the cadastre says that you rejected it while I have it with a title deed. I applied, I pay all the taxes. I had it planted and fenced but the owner cut it off from me. I don't know how he did this, the municipality should explain to us about this decision because I had the land in use. It is the only land that has been divided for the family ," said the resident.

The same situation is presented by Suzana Torra, who says that the land has been cultivated by her family for years with hazelnuts and cherries. She states that the trees were cut down without their knowledge and that no one contacted them about this decision, emphasizing that the land provided income for the family.

"We have the same problem, we worked the land with hazelnuts and cherries. We refused at the time because they asked us for taxes, we didn't have any and we left them, but we used them and we knew this would happen. They cut everything off without our knowledge. Even the village head should have come and told us that these lands belong to the villagers. I kept my house with those trees. I haven't been contacted by anyone, they lined their pockets well ," said Torra.

Also present at the protest was independent councilor Arbër Male, who is demanding clarification from the Municipality of Pogradec. According to him, if the land has been leased, there must be a decision of the Municipal Council, otherwise it is a clear violation of the law. Male emphasizes that any such contract must be approved by the council and that institutions must be held responsible for this situation.

"The residents of the village of Gurras have gathered here for a problem they have with their centuries-old lands. A person who claims to have rented land in that village has gone and occupied the village's lands. The municipality must clarify whether it has given a contract, is there a decision of the municipal council? If this contract has been given, it is in complete violation of the law. Any land that is owned by the state, the municipality has the right to rent it out, but this goes through the decision-making of the municipal council. To my knowledge, there is no decision of the latter, if this has happened we are dealing with a violation of the law and we must be held responsible ," said Male.

In a communication with the administrator who has rented the land, the latter stated that for 2 years now he has been using this land with a regular rental contract with the municipality of Pogradec. While in the area he will make an investment in agrotourism and orchards. He also expressed his readiness for any verification on the property in question. Sources from the Municipality of Pogradec announce that a working group will be established to verify whether the villagers have documents on this land. /CNA