During this period, they work mainly at night. In the light of recent complaints about the operation of the system of intimidation of officials in Mykonosalarmed builders who act in circumvention of the law.

“Now different levels have come to the island – urban planning, GDOU, archeology – and large construction projects have stopped. You won’t even see a concrete mixer on the street. We are currently working at night. It goes without saying that we installed chillers. Two workers who just keep their eyes open,” says an engineer in Mykonos, details of which are available to K. Not far from the famous beach of Mykonos, one of the dozens of buildings on the island is on temporary alert. “There are chillers, like in Drapezon in the 1960s,” he says.

The beating on March 7 of archaeologist Manolis Psarrou, an employee of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, and a threatening message received on her mobile phone on March 21 by his colleague (“Baby, machine… I will marry… you and your family”) demonstrate the existence on the island Mykonos of a mechanism engaged in illegal construction activities A well-informed source, who wished to remain anonymous, usually says: “Esee. anyone who went to mess with them was met by an airlift “.

While sources speak of continued impunity, figures provided to “K” by the South Aegean Police General Directorate regarding recorded violations give an idea of ​​the extent of the problem. In 2022, 135 people were arrested in the Cyclades. and the same number of cases were initiated for violation of Law 4495/2017 on the control and protection of the built environment. This is proportional to one arrest in three days, but given that construction work is reduced during the tourist season, violations are mainly detected within about six months. Only in the first two months of this year, 61 people were arrested on 46 offenses.

Playing with licenses

“I got permission too ’cause I know it’s out of control I submitted only the protocol and did not submit the decision (of the Office of Antiquities). I did this because archeology would take four months (to make a decision). If the decision was negative, I would be in big trouble. I acted without the approval of the service,” Engineer “K” admits, explaining how he circumvents the law to satisfy the needs of the building frenzy of the island, which is practically immune to legal pressure.

“You must be very unlucky so the permit you issued can be sent to the city planning office and they can check it. Only 30% of issued licenses are checked and control is a test,” he adds.

Building permits have been issued electronically for the past three years, and while the law is still specific on licensing requirements, engineers are more likely to circumvent the law by taking responsibility for the documents they file, especially those that are omitted.

“Before the system went electronic, the city planning department, without the approval of archeology or any other department, could not allow you to continue the process. Now everyone uploads what (documents) they want.. In fact, the online process does not save time. You simply had no choice that day not to be patient. And now it takes time, but there is a way out. Way to cheat“.

Variety of offenses

Foreign workers, mostly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, have been waiting in the square since early morning to attend to urgent construction needs, from trimming trees to guarding work to prevent surprise checks. Contractors pass by and ask people who, for better pay than in Athens, can work in unsafe conditions. Earlier in March, a 49-year-old Albanian worker died at work after falling from scaffolding.

“Who works and how many hours they work is another matter, because in Mykonos the work never stops. People work 7 days a week for 15 hours a day. to satisfy the need for a building orgasm,” says the same source. “THATall of them, if checked, should scatter in all directions. In the direction of Syros, Tinos, wherever possible. They must disappear somewhere.”

violations they are not limited to undeclared work. As the engineer explains, the most common are superstructures, shelters and slopes, the issuance of small-scale permits for major construction work (“you say, you put up a pergola, and the floor appears”) and going beyond the coastline and protected area. areas.

However, despite the responsibility they bear for identified violations, engineers do not act alone. Sources told K about a unique system for protecting owners of a business of interest. “If you are a young engineer and a foreigner and you say: “I want to arrange my life in Mykonos”, a factor comes in and tells you “and of course you can get market share if you give away a percentage (10%-30%) of your profits and don’t worry, I’ll make sure you have a job.”

Don’t become Cyclades, Texas

“Along with the drought, the greenery is on fire,” Mykonos professionals say in reference to a recent parliamentary decision to halt off-plan development on the island until December, explaining that those who built without permits will continue to do so, while standard ones are affected.

“The environment in which we have to work is constantly changing. This scares many people,” says Chrysostomos Kypritzis, president of the Naxos Association of Engineers. “The legal ones are punished.”

Although the phenomenon of issuing permits without all the necessary documents is widespread, many professionals in the field are calling for additional checks. “As an association of engineers, we want competition to be based on the quality of our work and not on how cocky someone is,” says Chrysostomos Kypritzis. However, he explains that in the past licensing procedures were time-consuming and that the regulatory authorities responsible for licensing could “receive 600 requests and process only 30 in a year”.

Building Orgasm shows some differences between the most touristic islands of the Cyclades, mainly in terms of property status, economic performance and geographic area. But it seems that the violations associated with it concern all the Cyclades. “Arbitrary construction is more attractive than legal construction,” Kypritzis says. In light of recent cases of threats against government employees, conscientious professionals in the field are concerned about the possibility of becoming “Cyclades, Texas.”