The Union of Communities states that they do not have the necessary number of employees for supervision – 30 local authorities were approved for the Ministry program, but did not go through cleaning
Despite the Pancyprian Cleaning Program of Cleaning Illegal Waste Reflections, which ran from last June to December by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, to support the exclusive responsibility of the local authorities, in the wake of the great fire in the wake of the large fire. A glaring example is images of the recent and first fires of this season, such as last week in the Metaxi Polemis and Gioli area, where a burning illegal sturgeon was the beginning of the spread. The problem is Pancyprian, according to Fire Department spokesman Andrea Kettis, who, speaking to “P”, confirmed on the basis of the incidents that the service is called upon daily, that about a year after last year’s disasters the picture was not overthrown.
As “P” is able to know, the issue has sounded a red alarm these days at the Ministry of Agriculture, with the Director of the Department of the Environment, convening for the beginning of next week. The risk of causing fires from illegal shames and the enforcement of the current legislation. The Police Chief, the Archbishop of the Fire Brigade, the Director of the Department of Forestry, the Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities, the Five Priests, the Five General Managers of the EOA, the President of the Union of Municipalities and the President of the Union of Communities, were called to attend.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s cleanliness campaign participated 106 local authorities, with a total of 269 points cleaned. However, there are still areas that need cleaning.
It is unable to supervise communities
It is recalled that for the supervision of illegal rugs, the Department of the Environment was based on the cooperation of the municipalities and communities, as despite the election commitment of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, the establishment of an Environmental Audit Service has been and is still pending. For this reason, the Department requested last August from the municipalities and communities that work with it for the cleaning program, which concerns high -risk areas, such as forests and areas of the Natura 2000 network, to appoint individuals who will receive authorization from the Minister of Agriculture. In some cases of municipalities, this agreement seems to be operating, however, at the level of Communities, from where the large fires, such as forests and Natura 2000 areas, do not even work in the minimum. In his statements to P, the President of the Pancyprian Union of Communities, Andreas Kitromilidis, said that today the communities do not have the necessary number of employees for this role. It has transferred the time horizon of the surveillance of illegal concrete after 2026, when with the application of “I pay as much as I fly” and the recruitments that will be made in the context of the reform of local government, they will be appointed, as provided, supervisors to the Communities.
Cleaned 269 points – 30 local authorities approved but not cleaned
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, 106 local authorities participated in the cleanliness campaign in 2024, with a total of 269 points cleaned. In the municipalities and communities receiving financial support, a total amount of one million thousand five hundred fifty euros were paid.
In particular, a total of 133 applications for Pancyprian were submitted by municipalities and communities. 74 Local authorities who received approval completed the cleaning and received sponsorship, while 30 local authorities who received approval did not proceed with the cleaning. Also two local authorities who received approval completed the cleaning, but did not receive sponsorship, while 27 Municipalities/Communities did not receive approval due to insufficient information.
According to the Department of the Environment, most high -risk areas, such as forests and areas of the Natura 2000 network, have been largely cleaned in the 2024 campaign. However, there are still areas that need cleaning, mainly areas that did not participate in the 2024 cleaning campaign.
It is underway to submit requests from communities that within their administrative boundaries have signs of illegal rejection and some of them adjacent to forest areas and/or Natura 2000 areas. A list was notified to the Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities, who informed the communities to submit to the environment. The requests will be evaluated by the Department of the Environment within the next few days to organize the next steps (approval, height of financial support for local authorities, setting timetables and conditions).
Problems in the Application of the Program
One of the main problems reported is the change of culture. “Despite efforts, some insist on making the same habit. It is important that inspectors have been appointed to monitor the non -repetition of the phenomenon and the imposition of strict out -of -court. It is important for local authorities to oversee outside the office hours, “a source from the Ministry of Agriculture told the” P “source.
Shots for the sequel
For the most efficient implementation of the Illegal Cleaning Program, the following actions are planned/proposed:
– Expanding the campaign to additional areas that did not participate in 2024.
– Improving the surveillance of cleaned points, by reinforcing the inspections by officials of the Department of the Environment and the Inspectors of the Local Authorities.
– Enhancing cooperation with local authorities for more efficient recording and dealing with problems.
– Utilizing the technological tools available in the Department of Environment, such as QGIS software, which allows the data to be crossed and enriching the data collected during the 2024 campaign, marking points of illegal waste rejection and monitoring them after cleaning them.
– Using new technologies, such as satellite images, aerial photographs and artificial intelligence, for large scale environment and data analysis. In this context, it has already been co -operated with Periopsis Ltd in a pilot phase, providing data that will be used by the Department of the Environment to further improve the monitoring and management of cleaned areas.