The Central Electoral Commission has scheduled a local referendum for June 21, 2026 in Cosnita commune, which also includes the village of Pohrebea. The commune is located on the left bank of the Nistru River and is under the constitutional control of the Moldovan authorities. Residents will have to answer the question about the prohibition of changing the designation of land outside the settlement (between villages) for the exploitation of minerals.
The following question is put to vote: “Do you support the prohibition of changing the designation of lands within the administrative boundaries of Cosnita commune for the purpose of mining at a distance of less than 1 km from the border of the intra-settlement territories of Cosnita and Pohrebea villages?”. The answer options are “YES” or “NO”.
Letter to the President
The topic of quarries near Koshnitsa has been discussed for a long time. In February this year, residents and local councilors, including veterans of the 1992 conflict, from Cosnita commune, as well as from the neighboring village of Pirita, sent an appeal to President Maia Sandu asking her to intervene and solve the problem of possible illegal mining near the settlements.
After that, on March 19, an interdepartmental meeting was held in the government, which ordered to suspend the removal of the fertile soil layer, conduct on-site inspections, review environmental permits and assess the possible damage.
Recently, the topic was given additional resonance by the deputy from “Our Party” Alexander Berlinski, who visited the territory of the sand quarry and stated about possible violations. The deputy parliamentary speaker Vlad Batryncha demanded to initiate inspections by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the specialized parliamentary commission.
A few days later, the Inspectorate for Environmental Protection launched an inspection – as the institution notes – “after signals received from law enforcement bodies and individuals regarding the activities of two private companies extracting sand and gravel near the villages of Cosnita and Pyryta”.
2.6 mln lei to change the destination
The inspections revealed the absence of a decision of the local council to change the land plot’s destination, which is a mandatory document for the legal start of mining. Under these conditions, the works were suspended.
At the same time, Dimitar Construct SRL rejects the accusations of illegal activity. The management claims that it has all the necessary permits to develop the sand pit in Pirita.
“Our company ensured the change of land use by transferring the amount of over 2.6 million lei to the local budget in November 2025. However, local councilors still refuse to make a decision to change the land plot’s designation,” the company’s director Lilia Onike said at a press conference.
The issue of a possible referendum in Paryt, similar to Cosnita, is not discussed yet.
