Toon Francken (90) from Rijsbergen, according to his lawyer Faton Bajrami, is not getting anywhere with the decision of the cabinet to help pay for the cleaning up of dumped drug waste. The municipality of Zundert, to which Rijsbergen belongs, will receive a maximum of 200,000 euros from the government, but it continues to try to recover the costs from Francken. The lawyer therefore speaks of a ‘wash nose’.
At the end of last week it was announced that citizens or municipalities where drug waste is dumped on their territory, will be able to recover most of the cleaning costs from the national government from next year. This concerns an amount of up to 200,000 euros.
The cabinet has already reached out to three cases, all of which have occurred in Brabant:
- An enormous dumping on the Brabantse Wal.
- The amphetamine lab in Neerkant.
- And the discharge discovered last autumn on a plot of land owned by Toon Francken in Rijsbergen.
Faton Bajrami, lawyer of the nineties, does not believe that his client is now getting out of the compensation claim. “I call it a wash nose. The letter to parliament does indeed state that two hundred thousand euros will be released, but at the end it can also be read that governments such as the province and municipality must continue their efforts to recover the damage from the perpetrator. It is a gesture for the stage,” the lawyer from Breda clarifies.
“I have understood through someone that the municipality of Zundert is sticking to its intention to pass on the costs to my client. She has also already seized his house. B and W maintain that he is responsible for the dumping, even though they can experts prove otherwise.”
Urgently requested
Meanwhile, Bajrami is of course not sitting still. He had already initiated proceedings with the Council of State. The lawyer wants to challenge the decision of the mayor and aldermen of Zundert to have Francken pay for the costs. This week he will urge the highest court in our country for urgent action.
Counsel will also ask BIJ12 for clarification. This nationally operating organization supervises the implementation of the subsidy scheme for the clearance of drug waste. Bajrami: “So extra money is being earmarked for clearing up drugs from people like my client. Then it would seem that you are innocent, but in practice I have serious doubts about the legal feasibility. Why else would the municipality be so firm?”
Francken is not doing well
Incidentally, Francken hardly gets anything from the discussion about the drug waste that was partly found on his territory. His (mental) health has suffered, partly due to the persistent accusations made by the municipality. Bajrami hopes to keep him out of the wind as much as possible. He mainly has contact with his daughter when new developments occur.
The municipality of Zundert could not comment yet.
ALSO READ:
Drug waste in nature, forester Erik fought for compensation for years
Toon Francken (90) has to clean up drug waste: municipality stands firm