Manteigas Mayor Flavio Massano said on Monday it was “unfair” that the municipality was not included in the allocation of support to municipalities affected by floods in late 2022 and early 2023.
The mayor has already communicated his displeasure to the Minister of Territorial Unity and now hopes a correction can be made within this month, he said Monday during a meeting of the municipal executive, which was broadcast on a digital platform.
The mayor recalled the damage to infrastructure and equipment, especially in the parishes of Sameiro and Vale de Amoreira, caused by rains and floods after the fires in August 2022, for which the municipality did not receive support, despite the insistence of the government.
At the meeting, Flavio Massano explained that a new, more accurate survey had been carried out and that the reconstruction costs would amount to 1.6 million euros.
“Now we already have projects, estimates and awarded works for which we have no money. I sent this amount to the minister,” he said.
The mayor of Manteigas said support had already been requested from the government for damages, but “both the government and CCDR [Comissão de Coordenação da Região Centro] postponed the answer.
“We kept insisting, and we were surprised that in January the government allocated funds for identical phenomena,” registered almost throughout the country.
He now admitted that he was surprised by the fact that the report published in Diário da República mentioned several municipalities in the region that “did not record as much damage” as Manteigas and the municipality was not covered.
“It’s okay, but we want to get our share,” he said.
The mayor regarded this as “injustice and unequal treatment of the same situations.”
“I could not allow the municipality to suffer in this situation. I am waiting for an answer that there will be help from the government,” he said.
In June, the municipality of Manteigas approved a proposal asking the government for support in repairing damage caused by floods following a 2022 fire at several locations in the municipality, in the Guarda region.
In August, the government announced that it would allocate 48.4 million euros to replace infrastructure and equipment in 92 municipalities destroyed by floods in December 2022 and January 2023.
The joint message of the Ministries of Finance and Territorial Unity, published in Diário da República on August 10, provides support to the various municipalities of the region, such as Almeida, Belmonte, Gouveia, Guarda, Meda and Seia.
The Ministry of Territorial Cohesion said that applications from 92 municipalities were approved in total.
Between late 2022 and early this year, several areas of the mainland were hit by heavy rains that resulted in severe flooding, damage to roads, businesses and homes, and displaced dozens of people.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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