With the reform approved by the local Congress, the state Executive will have the power to declare works of state interest to exempt them from the permits necessary for their construction.
CAMPECHE, CAMPECHE. – Representatives from the National Action (PAN), National Regeneration Movement (Morena) parties, and independents, approved a reform to the Public Works Law of the State of Campeche so that official constructions, such as the Mayan Train and the Light Train, do not have to comply with state and municipal requirements, such as those of no environmental impact and affectation of the urban layout.
On May 16, the Campeche City Council suspended works on the construction of the Light Train, a complementary work of the Maya Train project in the region, for not complying with the necessary licenses for construction, as well as to prevent road damage and environmental impact, giving 5 days for those responsible to initiate the procedures.
By not respecting the provision, the municipal authority criminally sued the Secretariat of Defense (SEDENA), and the Mota Engil private company, which operates the works.
The Light Train has an investment of just over four billion pesos and foresees the construction of 14 stations that will link the Maya Train terminal with the historic center of the city, through traditional neighborhoods and important avenues, some of them in flood-prone areas, forcing, according to its builders, to stop operations when there are floods.
The new legislation annexed to the State Public Works Law, the new legal concept of “Public Works of State Interest of Great Impact”, which exempts projects that are ruled as such from obtaining a construction license for their execution.
“(The State Interest of Great Impact) is any public work that presents relevant benefits for the people who are in the State or of great importance for the State (…) such as construction, operation, maintenance, infrastructure, spaces, goods of public interest, execution and administration of transportation infrastructure, services, and development poles,” reads the initiative presented by deputy Elda Castillo Quintana, from Morena.
The reform approved by the majority of the Congress of Campeche empowers the state Executive to define the public works that will enjoy this benefit, which may be carried out by the state or federal government and must provide benefits for the inhabitants or visitors of the state, in the field of transportation, construction, administration, and public services.
The opposition considered that a law is being adapted to favor public works that do not comply with the rules that until yesterday individuals and governments had to comply with.
However, the initiative was approved by 25 votes in favor and only 7 against three from the Citizen Movement (MC, which governs the state capital), three from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and one independent, from the former PRI member Adriana. Ortiz Lanz.
The 16 deputies from Morena, the only deputy from the National Action Party (PAN), and nine self-proclaimed independents voted in favor, mostly former MC militants, a former PRI member, and a former PAN member.
The reform to the Public Works Law adds a last paragraph to article 2, as well as article 14 BIS, which stipulates from now on that “public works declared of state interest are exempt from obtaining a construction license for their execution.” of great impact to which article 2 of this Law refers.”
The new paragraph of article 2 mentions that “the Executive Branch of the State of Campeche, where applicable, will issue the corresponding “Agreement” to declare all public works of state interest of great impact, indicating therein the benefits of the work, its significance for the State and Municipalities, as well as the state that executes it, even when it may be of the Federal order.”
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