Rosa Gili Defends Escaldes-Engordany on Load Capacity Report Delay Amid Government Clash

**Rosa Gili defends Escaldes-Engordany's delivery of load capacity studies amid ongoing dispute with government**

Escaldes-Engordany's cònsol major, Rosa Gili, has accused the government of escalating a minor administrative delay into a public confrontation over complementary technical reports for the parish's maximum load capacity studies. Speaking during Wednesday's comú council session, Gili clarified that the reports—related to the sewerage network—were prepared on time but not sent last Friday due to an oversight by another official, not herself.

She explained that the documents reached the director of the Territory and Urban Planning ministry, Raül Ferré, on Monday, despite the minister later claiming they had not arrived. Gili said she even sent Ferré a screenshot of the transmission and stressed: "Next time, we will send it to everyone." She rejected any suggestion of lying, insisting the issue involved multiple people and could have been resolved with a simple phone call rather than press statements.

Gili criticised government spokespersons Guillem Casal and Ferré for publicly highlighting the delay, which she called a "lamentable loop" that damages political standards. The parish was excluded from a Monday meeting on urban planning as a result. She questioned whether a politically aligned comú would face the same treatment and suggested the row distracts from national challenges.

On the studies themselves, launched four years ago under the 2022 sustainability law, Gili demanded clarity on their purpose: "The government has not said what the objective of the load studies is. Do we want to grow? Can we grow?" She noted that key areas like energy (FEDA), wastewater treatment, landfills, education, health, and mobility fall under government remit, not parishes. Escaldes needs this data to revise its urban plan, especially for roads serving the whole country.

Cònsol menor Quim Dolsa echoed concerns, warning the studies might reveal mismanagement and predicting the government aims to delay them until elections. Opposition councillors Gabriel Guerrero and Anna Garcia dismissed the excuses, arguing the reports should have met the deadline and that a phone call does not justify the lapse.

With Escaldes now the last parish to submit, the government can soon issue its binding report, assessing infrastructure capacity for projected 10-year demographic growth. Gili called for coordinated planning across institutions to address issues like saturated mobility and emerging health strains.