Retailers demand reimbursement from Hiper
The Association of Shopkeepers of the Hiper Bompreço supermarket in Gruta, Maceió, will file an urgent request with the Court of Justice of Alagoas (TJ/AL) to prevent the business owners occupying the hypermarket from paying this month's rent; they will also request compensation for the losses suffered by the shopkeepers since the supermarket was closed. The establishment is accused of discharging untreated sewage directly into a Permanent Protection Area and is a repeat offender of the same infraction – degrading the environment – having been notified in 2010 and 2011 when the hypermarket's sewage treatment system stopped working.
Alagoas247 - The lawyer for the Association of Shopkeepers of Hiper Bompreço da Gruta stated, on Tuesday afternoon (28), that she will file an urgent request with the Court of Justice of Alagoas (TJ/AL) so that the businessmen occupying the hypermarket do not have to pay this month's rent, which is due on May 15. The association will also ask that the Walmart Group – responsible for the Bompreço units – pay for the losses that the shopkeepers claim to have suffered since the closure. The amount, however, has not yet been calculated.
According to the association's lawyer, Iris Cintra, the Municipal Secretariat for Environmental Protection (Sempma) and representatives of the association repeatedly sought measures from Walmart to prevent the closure of the store. However, according to the lawyer, the company representatives did not sign the Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC) that would have allowed the hypermarket to reopen.
“In our urgent request, we will ask that the rent for the stores, which is due on the 15th, not be paid, in addition to reimbursement for all losses. How will they assume this expense if the stores are closed? It is important that someone from Walmart comes to Alagoas with the authority to sign the documents necessary for reopening,” the lawyer stated.
Data from the shopkeepers' association indicates that the Hiperbompreço in Gruta employs around 400 people, distributed among the 70 stores located there. On Monday, employees held a protest against the closure of the unit, expressing their fear of mass layoffs that have arisen due to the impasse.
The municipal authority requires the company to sign a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC) in which it commits to regularizing its environmental license, which expired in 2011, and consequently, ceasing the discharge of sewage into a Permanent Protection Area (APP).
The establishment is accused of dumping untreated sewage directly into a protected area in Jardim do Horto. According to Sempma, the company is a repeat offender of the same infraction – degrading the environment – having been notified in 2010 and 2011, from which point, according to the department, the hypermarket's sewage treatment system stopped working, with all waste being dumped into the environment.
Pollution in the protected area generated dissatisfaction among residents in the surrounding area, who demanded action from the municipal agency. On March 19, 23, 25, and 26, as well as on April 6 and 7, environmental technicians collected water samples in the conservation unit, and the tests revealed a high percentage of fecal coliforms.
With gazetaweb.com