The Federal Court of Ceará suspended the collection of tickets for visitors to the National Park of Ceará for an indefinite period.
The decision was taken by judge Sérgio de Norões Milfont Júnior, from the 18th Federal Court of Ceará, on January 13th.
In 2024, it will be managed by the Urbia Cataratas Jericoacoara consortium for 30 years with investments of up to R$1 billion.
The concession contract provides for exemption from charges for local residents, workers and researchers, as well as those registered in the Single Registry for federal government social programs.
Residents point out the risk of daily and indiscriminate ticket charges to access the Village of Jericoacoara. According to reports, the only access to the village is through the national park, which is under management transition from ICMBio to the consortium. Residents want free and unlimited access to the urban area.
“It is possible to observe that the beginning of the collection of amounts due to the concession has been successively postponed, which demonstrates the existence of material difficulties in its operationalization, especially in the context of a conflict that appears to exist between the concessionaire and ICMBio, in a side, and the municipality and the local population, on the other”, wrote the judge.
The judge also determined that, within 60 days, ICMBio presents a detailed plan on the progress of the registration of exemption beneficiaries. After presenting the document, the judge will make a new decision on the charge.
“Although there is a prohibition on charging entry fees to residents, visitors and local workers, there was no proof of the adoption of the necessary measures to identify the beneficiaries”, added the magistrate.
By maintaining the suspension of the charge for an indefinite period, the judge responded to a request from the City of Jijoca de Jericoacoara. In December, ICMBio and the consortium announced the postponement of the start of charging the R$50 per day fee until March.
In addition to the entrance fee charged by the national park, another fee of R$41.50 is charged by the city hall to visitors to Jericoacoara.
In a statement, the Urbia Cataratas Jericoacoara consortium said that access for residents and workers of Vila de Jericoacoara will remain free, as regulated by the concession contract, and that the registration process is already underway.
When contacted, ICMBio did not issue a position until the publication of this text.
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