The government has adopted two normative acts that provide for the connection of over 160,000 Romanians to the natural gas network and compensation for aquaculture activities in protected natural areas, the investment amounting to 1.18 billion lei, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests (MMAP) announced on Friday.
„The Executive approved yesterday (Thursday, ed. n), in a Government meeting, at the proposal of the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, the Emergency Ordinance for the regulation of measures relating to some projects for the extension and change of destination, conversion or modernization of gas transport and distribution networks, for the amendment of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 196/2005 on the Environmental Fund, as well as for the amendment of paragraph (3) of art. 291 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 133/2021 on the financial management of European funds for the 2021-2027 programming period, allocated to Romania from the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Just Transition Fund”, it is mentioned in a press release from the institution.
According to the cited source, the investment amounts to 1.18 billion lei and is financed from green certificates collected by the Environmental Fund Administration. The beneficiaries of the projects are local administrations or associations of local administrations, whose budgets do not allow for the expenses related to the completion of these projects.
Also, over 190 schools, kindergartens and other public institutions will have access to natural gas.
„I am happy to give good news, this time for approximately 165,000 Romanians, who will be connected to the natural gas network. We will finance projects for the establishment or expansion of natural gas networks in many communes, cities or municipalities from the green certificates we collect from the Environmental Fund Administration. In addition to the 165,000 Romanians I was referring to earlier, 190 schools, kindergartens or other public institutions are added. 42 communes and two cities from 11 counties will thus benefit. Therefore, I am happy that we manage to use the money from greenhouse gas certificates for projects that change the communities in Romania for the better. I can imagine how big the difference is when the natural gas network passes in front of the house. This also helps us in „related to pollution, because we no longer use stoves, we no longer use solid fuel, it also helps us with comfort and warmth in our homes,” said the Minister of Environment, Waters and Forests, Mircea Fechet, quoted in the press release.
The counties that benefit from this investment are: Mehedinti, Bacau, Harghita, Covasna, Constanta, Bihor, Sibiu, Hunedoara, Calarasi, Giurgiu and Suceava.
Also in yesterday’s Government meeting, the Government Decision was adopted which provides for compensation for aquaculture activities in protected natural areas, the cited source specifies.
According to the ministry, it is „the Government Decision approving the method of requesting, calculating and granting compensation for aquaculture activities in protected natural areas, according to the restrictive provisions in the management plans or in the set of conservation measures established until the approval of the management plans”.
„Starting this year, we will be able to pay a subsidy of 100 euros per hectare of water surface, every year, for those fish farms that are located in protected natural areas and that have certain prohibitions. The fishing sector is one in which very little has been invested, in which state support has been quite low in the last 30 years and, as proof, we have very few fish farms and we are forced to import the largest quantity of the fish we consume in Romania,” declared Minister Mircea Fechet.
The provisions of this GD, initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, apply only to lands with fishing facilities located within protected natural areas.
„The compensation amount is borne by the state budget, from a distinct position in the budget of the National Agency for the Environment and Protected Areas, within the limits of the budgetary provisions approved for this purpose,” the press release also reads.
Also, the value of the compensation cannot exceed 30% of the turnover achieved by the beneficiary, from aquaculture or related activities, in the previous year.
„This will ensure the sustainable management of fisheries facilities subject to environmental restrictions, imposed by management plans or by the administrators of the protected natural area in which the facility is located,” the cited source states.
AGERPRES
