According to a report from Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov (BSP), submitted to the local municipal council, mechanical sweeping in the city covered an area of 132,303 square kilometers in one year. In comparison, the area of Bulgaria is 110,994 square kilometers. For this activity, the municipal budget spent 1,204,919.68 BGN including VAT, as stated in the annual report of the air quality program in the municipality for the period 2021 – 2026.
In other words, in just one calendar year, Ruse Municipality has swept the entire territory of Bulgaria and even a bit more.
During the recent session, the municipal councilors in Ruse did not approve the report proposed by Mayor Pencho Milkov. The administration had recorded several other contentious measures to improve air quality in one of the most polluted cities in Bulgaria, which, according to a recent publication by the non-governmental organization “Za Zemyata” (“For the truth”) is also one of the most polluted in Europe.
Among other reported activities that became the subject of jokes and comments on social networks are the purchase of 90 benches, the installation of seven parking meters for the short-term paid parking system in the blue zone, and a publication regarding firewood for heating, posted on the Ruse Municipality website in 2022.
However, it seems that the Ruse municipal administration has done the most work in relation to systematic mechanical sweeping and washing of the main street network in the city.
Just last week, “Za Istinata” (“For the truth”) sent questions to the press center of Ruse Municipality, seeking clarification on how the reported area was calculated and how often the streets and sidewalks of Ruse were cleaned in 2024. As of the publication of this text, no responses had been received.
Since December 2024, Ruse Municipality has signed a contract with “Consortium EKO Ruse Group” for waste collection, public hygiene, and snow removal. Prior to this, public hygiene activities were carried out jointly by the municipal enterprise “Parkstroy” and “Nelsen Chistota” EOOD. Ruse Municipality also did not respond to another important question posed by a reporter from “Za Istinata” (“For the truth”) — what portion of the reported areas that underwent mechanical and manual sweeping, washing, and “scraping” in 2024 was handled by the municipal company and what portion by the firms contracted with the municipality.
From the documents related to the tender, after which Ruse Municipality signed a contract with the “Consortium EKO Ruse Group,” it becomes clear that “the area of the street and sidewalk network subject to the public procurement is 2,132,533 square meters.” This is nearly 150 times less than the reported mechanically swept area, even if it were assumed that the entire street and sidewalk network in the city was processed daily for each of the 365 days of the year.
Municipal councilor Dejan Gerasimov from the “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” group assessed the content of the presented report on the air quality program of Ruse Municipality as unserious and disrespectful to the citizens of Ruse and the municipal council, stating that the data within it was “manipulatively and tendentiously presented.”
From a response by Mayor Pencho Milkov to a question from municipal councilor Galichka Nikolova of the “Citizens for the Municipality” coalition in March 2024, it becomes clear that the municipal enterprise “Parkstroy” has two cleaning machines and two specialized vehicles—one for street cleaning and another for washing and transporting waste. “Nelsen Chistota” EOOD has two tankers with a capacity of 10 cubic meters each and one tanker with a capacity of 6 cubic meters.
Whether these machines have the capacity to clean 132,303 square kilometers remains unclear.
The question remains open as to whether the reported 132,303 square kilometers of mechanically swept streets and sidewalks in Ruse is due to a technical error or if it conceals a corruption scheme aimed at siphoning off public funds.
In order to answer this question, “Za Istinata” (“For the truth”) requested, under the Access to Public Information Act, that Ruse Municipality provide all protocols and invoices for the reported work from the two companies – “Consortium EKO Ruse Group” and “Nelsen Chistota” EOOD – that were involved in public hygiene in the city in 2024. The deadline for a response expires next week.
Indeed, one of the scientifically proven methods for reducing fine particulate matter (PM) is through regular sweeping and washing of streets and sidewalks with pressurized water. According to research, such measures can decrease average daily concentrations of PM by between 7 and 10 percent.
“Za Istinata” (“For the truth”) continues to monitor the situation.
