After demolishing 16 villas in Ujman, MMPHI warns of a new offensive against encroachments in Batllavë and Badovc

The Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (MMPHI) reaffirmed that protecting water resources constitutes a strategic pillar of its activity, signaling that operations to clear illegally occupied water spaces and unpermitted constructions will intensify.

Through a statement distributed on social media, the ministry announced that it has begun prioritizing the review of requests from institutions and public companies for the return of water properties that have been seized or unlawfully alienated.

Describing the protection of water resources as a national priority, MMPHI stressed that for this reason, water properties have become the main focus of institutional engagement. The ministry announced that it is urgently processing requests for the clearance of all spaces that have been encroached upon or expropriated outside the legal framework.

This commitment, according to the ministry, extends across the entire territory of the country, with the most recent intervention in the area of Lake Ujman cited as a concrete example. During this operation, assisted by the MMPHI Inspectorate and the Kosovo Police, 16 illegally built structures on water properties managed by the Public Enterprise “Ibër-Lepenci” were demolished. The ministry added that this action is merely one of the steps in a broader plan, for which all involved parties were notified in advance and in full compliance with legal procedures.

In continuation of this strategic plan, MMPHI announced that attention is now focused with increased intensity on the violations identified near two essential sources of drinking water for citizens: Lake Batllava and Lake Badovc. The ministry’s inspectorate is in the process of fully identifying violations in these areas, and once this process is completed, the authorities warned that immediate legal measures will be taken to return these spaces to the service of the public interest.

The ministry reiterated that monitoring by the Inspectorate continues in protected areas and national parks, reinforcing the commitment to the rule of law. At the end of the statement, MMPHI declared its determination to guarantee the protection of every water and natural resource of Kosovo against any form of encroachment or illegal construction, relying on law enforcement and inter-institutional cooperation.