A score of neighbors de Las Bajas and El Callao beach, on the coast of Güímar, they face a definitive eviction of their homes located in the Maritime Terrestrial Public Domain (DPMT), after the order of “Demolition” sent by Costas and posted on the bulletin board of the consistory.
These neighbors have been evicted since March due to emergency works on the slope of the TF-1 tunnels, which since September have been paralyzed in the absence of completing 25% of them. Now, all these families are facing a definitive eviction, according to the notification from Costas, unless the judicial appeal that the lawyer José Luis Langa will announce today at a press conference on behalf of those affected, while in the afternoon, in the House of Culture, the mayor Güimarero, Gustavo Pérez, will meet with the neighbors to convey that, “pending the reports of the legal services, we will try to expedite the aid to the affected neighbors as soon as possible”, in reference to those who According to data from Costas, they have their only home in that area and that until now they are living for rent – at least seven families – paid for by the company that carried out the works now paralyzed and that has already communicated to the real estate that from this month it will leave to pay.
As explained Gustavo Perez, “The City Council has received eight notifications of demolition of these homes and another 10 units that are in the public domain”, but understands that “this has stipulated deadlines and if the neighbors do not admit that they enter their homes, a judicial process will be opened ”, Comments the first mayor. Meanwhile, one of those affected neighbors, Ana, shows her pessimism because “they still give us rent help for four months and then what, when they are going to tear down our only home”, she wonders in anguish.
The lawyer Langa, for his part, will announce today the actions to be taken that “will be the same as those that I carried out before the Contentious Courts to prevent the judges from authorizing the eviction and subsequent demolition of families that have been living there for many years, until sentence is passed ”.
In other centers such as Santa Lucía, they have not received notification from Coasts, after other emergency works on their slope that also exceeded the initial budget by 300,000 euros, nor in Playa de Lima and Playa La Viuda, these in Arafo and Candelaria, respectively . But yes in Bajo la Cuesta, whose half of the neighborhood has been evicted for five years due to works on its slope that the City Council has not been able to carry out because it is on private land (Dani Ran) and in Costas, which does not give permission to act because it already it has notified the process of repossession of the DMPT, but has not yet announced the “demolition”.
The devastating cost overrun report
The mayor of Gúímar, Gustavo Pérez, resolved the definitive stoppage of the emergency works in Las Bajas – stopped since September – after hearing the extensive report (47 pages) of the municipal secretary about the cost overrun and the alleged irregularities committed by the winning company (UTE Camino Las Bajas).
As stated in file 1694/2021, in response to the Naos Ingeniería y Gestión Facultative Directorate, after having requested from it on September 13 “reasoned writing of the execution of works other than those authorized by this Administration”, the secretary municipal proposes “to terminate the contract with the UTE Camino Las Bajas” and “the return of all those certifications of works issued without the protection of any enabling title or prior consultation or approval of the contracting authority”, so that “a file to clarify responsibilities of the Facultative Directorate and the author of the previous study ”.
In view of this report, the mayor confirmed to this newspaper that the company’s certifications will not be attended, beyond those already collected (three at a rate of 116,277.77; 153,158.17 and 72,440.47 euros each), an amount that they just coincide with the budgeted amount (342,865 euros) in March for the entire emergency work decreed by the then mayor, Airam Puerta, due to the risk of landslides in the area. However, the UTE has presented up to four more works certifications: 264,038.33 (June), 225,366.50 (July 30), 250,937.63 (September) and 84,444.62 euros (July) this last amount for machinery access , which makes a total of all the work of 1,169,635.09 euros, more than three times what was budgeted in March. In addition, the secretary remembers in her report, without prior communication and without the support of the contracting Administration. Faced with this devastating report, the mayor refuses to pay and the company only has to go to court.
