The story of farmer Ludmila Havránková and her 10 hectares of land blocking the construction of the motorway D11 from Prague to Hradec Králové started 15 years ago. Havránková’s family got the property back in 1993 since it was previously expropriated by the communists. However, as soon as the state returned the land there was a warning that soon a motorway would be built across the farm. The family decided to fight, demanding the land needed for the motorway be replaced by land of equal value. The state refused to negotiate and threatened with dispossession. Havránková turned to a court and won.
In 2007, the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) offered to have the family’s land evaluated and exchanged for another piece of land of equal value. The agreement was drafted. However, a year later the cabinet endorsed a plan to exchange Havránková’s land for a land, the value of which was 50% lower. Havránková said no one consulted them and they naturally presumed the exchanged land would be of equal value.
Yesterday the Transport Ministry announced it is considering giving up on the construction of the main motorway slip-road due to the ongoing dispute over land, Lidové noviny reported. The Ministry might do so to decrease the amount of land the construction would need from Havránková thus allowing her to keep most of her land. The construction would require 2-3 hectares instead of original 10 hectares.
Hradec Králové objected the plan, while according to the state commissioner of the D11 construction Ivo Toman, Havránková welcomed the move.
Aktuálně.cz mentioned three other possible solutions to the deadlock. First one being the land exchange proposed by the Jan Fisher cabinet’s work group; second, the exchange of only 10 hectares and financial compensation, and third being the dispossession.
The 10 hectares owned by Havránková is all the state is missing to conclude the D11 construction. The final decision should be reached in the middle of August at a meeting of economic ministers.
