They arrived at the slopes of Mount Linas with bulldozers and excavators, like the Piedmontese of old. They have not read the “Paese d'ombre” and are completely unaware of the history of those forests plundered in the name of the Savoy kingdom and the Tuscan charcoal burners. Here, in Villacidro, says the literary patriarch Giuseppe Dessì, «they had never tolerated masters». «Harsh and sometimes even mean people» says the writer-philosopher, explaining that the violence and abuse suffered by unscrupulous “foreigners” had almost genetically shaped the character and nature of the people of Mount Linas.

Piedmontese novels

The new “Piedmontese of the wind”, now landed from Cuneo in the land of the Campidano di mezzo, had never read anything about the “bloody” history of the defense of Villacidro. It is understandable, after all, for those who have been accustomed by history not to knock when entering other people’s homes. The laws of the Italian State, however, at least those, they should have read, and perhaps even respected. They should have known, for example, that watercourses are not blocked, roads are not built in areas at risk of hydrogeological disaster, canals are not filled without asking permission. They should have known that here, in one of the largest communal lands on the island, the “civic lands” are sacred. They should have, indeed. The “Franciscan” arrival of these new “fans” of northern Italy in the land of citrus and cherries, with so many business ramifications scattered here and there, was even accompanied by a singular press release that almost seemed to announce the “beatification” of so many wind turbines in the presence of the great mountain. They complained, with the grace of the Caterpillars that leveled Santu Miali, of the criticisms leveled at the wind operation on Mount Linas by an investigation by our newspaper.

“Franciscan” well-being

They invoked understanding and thanks for the “well-being” that they were about to “grant” with both hands on that stage, according to them, full of desperation and desolation. Then, waking up disheveled from an “ungrateful” welcome, in the dusty construction site, they found the Forestry rangers and the Civil Engineering engineers. The report drawn up by the officials of the Regional Directorate of Public Works thunders repeated abuses, as if they had mistaken that area for a “no man’s land” to be defaced with impunity in the waterways and in the hydrogeological structure. Yet in the maps of the Hydrogeological Structure Plan, a blue “stain” was evident, marked by a dangerous constraint linked to the hydrographic conformation of the entire area, it matters little if the shovels had been positioned, after repeated modifications, in very modest enclaves where the risk had been placed at the borders.

The blitz in Santu Miali

The technicians' report left no room for doubt: abuses, all prohibited by the laws on the management of rivers, waterways and hydrogeological structure. The Forestry Department countersigns and transmits everything to the Prosecutor's Office and the Municipality. For the municipal administration, the order is peremptory: you must immediately issue an order for the demolition and restoration of the places within the area subject to the construction of the Santu Miali wind farm. The dossier is hot. In the middle, there are omitted controls, both in the planning and authorization phases, just as the lack of a timely verification of the state of the places and the construction site appears truly surprising, ignoring fundamental works almost as if the project concerned a modest tool shed and not the upheaval of the most significant environmental and landscape proscenium. Yesterday, after some delay, the order arrives at the protocol. The provision is clear: "DAS Villacidro Srl is ordered to provide for the demolition of the following structures, at their own expense, within ninety days from the date of notification of this order, as well as the execution of the works to restore the state of the places, with the warning that, in the event of non-compliance, the works will be carried out automatically with their expenses borne and without prejudice to criminal action".

Abuse

At least four works are under accusation that have blocked or modified the hydrogeological structure of the area: «the crossing of the water feature called “Rio Sa Gora de is Monnitzis” made of earth with the installation of a pipe for the flow of the water current; the crossing of the water feature called “Canale S'Acqua Durci” made of earth without the installation of an adequate hydraulic work to allow the flow of the water current; adaptation of the existing crossing of the water feature called “Canale S'Acqua Durci” made of earth with the installation of a pipe for the flow of the water current (mountain side of the crossing, according to the direction of the water current); adaptation of the existing crossing of the water feature called “Gora de Stai” made of earth». The decision of the municipal official to order the demolition, but not to block the construction site, as perhaps the ascertained abuses and those to be verified would have suggested, will now be examined by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Several aspects could end up under the scrutiny of the offices of the Palace of Justice, also in light of the entire authorization process for that project. Among these, there is one that raises quite a few reservations about the approval of the project: the confirmed existence of civic uses within the land registry maps included in the "urgent occupation order issued by the General Directorate of Local Authorities and Finance State Property and Heritage Service of Cagliari of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia on 22 June 2023". Now, in the same order for the demolition of the works in the wind context, it is written: "that emergency occupation order is not valid for the following land registry companies: Etfas with headquarters in Cagliari; Municipality of Villacidro as areas subject to civic uses; State Property with headquarters in Rome areas subject to civic uses; Laore Sardegna; Ersat; Terna". The conclusion of the same ordinance is clear: in those areas, "therefore, the works envisaged therein cannot be carried out in the absence of specific authorization from the Owner Entities". A wound, yet another in this story, which probably should have suggested not only greater expertise in approving the project, both with regard to the hydrogeological structure of the area, but also for the ownership of the land, not verified despite being burdened by civic use.

The failure to block

Not blocking the entire construction site, in the face of violations of a hydrogeological nature, which have repercussions, as much jurisprudence indicates, on the entire project, even burdened by civic uses, means giving the gentlemen of Das the time to "inflict" the most significant violation on that area: the irreversibility of the damage to the landscape of Monte Linas. On the sidelines of everything, the properties of the Vestas "deposits" identified outside the construction site area and their use, which appears to be different from the agricultural urban destination, will also have to be verified. The dossier is now at the Palace of Justice.

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