Parliament approves 'super permit' for olive grove plunder

The omnibus bill, publicly known as the "super permit," which includes opening olive groves to mining activities, was accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) with 255 votes to 199.

According to the bill, if mining activities carried out to meet electricity needs coincide with areas registered as olive groves in the land registry or that actually contain olive groves, and if it is not possible to carry out the activities in other areas, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources may permit the relocation of olive trees in the area where mining activities will be carried out, by giving priority to the district and provincial borders where the mining area is located, the carrying out of mining activities in the area and the construction of temporary facilities related to these activities, taking into account the public interest.

For each year that mining activities are carried out in areas registered as olive groves or in areas that actually have olive groves, an additional fee equal to the operating license fee will be collected from the license holder to ensure the rehabilitation of these areas.

If Treasury real estate is needed for newly established olive groves and olive trees to be relocated, those deemed appropriate by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change may be directly leased for 10 years at the current market value to those who request it from the real estate owners whose olive groves have been expropriated.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority may take an "urgent expropriation" decision within the scope of the Expropriation Law until 31 December 2030 for the acquisition of privately owned real estate required for production facilities with preliminary licenses or production licenses based on renewable energy sources.

An 85% discount will be applied to permit, lease, and easement transactions for renewable energy production facilities that will be operational by this date. The current discounts on permits, leases, and easements will be extended for five years to reduce energy imports, reduce the current account deficit, and increase domestically sourced production.

Source: ANKA