There do not seem to be ready-made solutions to the issue of noise pollution from recreation centers, so that the problem can be addressed this summer, as reported to the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs. The competent services state that they are unable to implement the law, since there is a gap that does not allow criminal prosecution, while there is no way to record the noise ceilings.
Speaking to the Parliamentary Committee on Interior, the Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Petridis, stated that the relevant law of 2016 is inapplicable, including that there was no control body, studies for each leisure center, installation of sound meters, while the issue of law enforcement suffers. . The ministry, he said, has prepared a bill with amendments that largely resolve some issues and includes three levels of licensing.
The bill has been sent to the legal service for three months, but it does not seem to be possible to complete its review this summer.
The Minister noted that because there is currently a fragmentation of responsibilities on the issue of noise pollution, the bill provides that the implementation of the law will be undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism and the sound ratings will be submitted there.
The Minister of Justice, George Savvidis, stated that there is no legal framework to implement the law this summer season and it should be practically considered how the problem will be solved for this year. As he said, the only thing that can be done is the implementation of the penal code with some changes by the Police, which however has some staffing problems. For this reason, he asked for co-responsibility with the local bodies as well.
On behalf of the Police, Assistant Chief Christakis Mavris stated that some duties should be released from the Police, such as loudspeakers and smoking, and should be undertaken by the local authorities in order for the Police to remain in their clear investigative duties and fight against crime.
DIKO MP Panikos Leonidou stated after the end of the Committee that there is a legislation for the leisure centers of 2016, which according to the competent bodies is inapplicable. He spoke of hindrance, stagnation and a meteoric situation that greatly affects society, due to the inconvenience that exists. He stated the readiness of DIKO to cooperate to find ways to alleviate the problem. He also said that at the moment the law enforcement officials do not have the means to record the noises to see if the complaint is legal. He said that the cooperation of the Labor Office, which has the necessary equipment, or even the purchase of services from the private sector could be requested on this issue.
ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis stated that his party has submitted a proposal since 2016 to create a tourist police to address the gaps that exist and added that since September 2016 the issue has not been discussed and there is no intention to discuss.
Source: KYPE