Two years after the fire in Serra da Estrela, mayors are asking for more funding to repair infrastructure damage, a different financial model, the implementation of projects included in the Revitalization Plan and less bureaucracy.
“After two years, there is still much to do. Some things have been done, but others are below what they could be,” Guarda Municipal Council President Sergio Costa told Lusa.
The mayor cited reforestation as an example and considered that “the actions taken were just a rehearsal.”
Sérgio Costa stressed that the Serra da Estrela Revitalization Plan, approved by the previous government, also contains “powerful measures” in this area that need to be implemented.
“We want this plan to move from words to action as soon as possible. In the municipality of Guarda, we have several projects that we must start implementing. We just need to say where to apply. These populations must not be forgotten,” he supports.
The man elected by the Pela Guarda movement stressed the unity of the mayors of Serra da Estrela after the fire and the pressure they exerted to ensure that the region received compensation.
“This only happened because the mayors were outraged by what happened,” he noted.
One of the first measures was the provision of 2.6 million euros to repair damaged municipal infrastructure in six municipalities of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park.
According to Chamber President Guard, this support needs to be strengthened, as the amounts allocated so far are not enough.
“I have already made it clear that these events require increased funding. No one is to blame for the fires, but again everything cannot be done at the expense of the city’s public treasury, and that is why we are asking the Government for additional support,” the mayor noted.
In the municipality of Seia, a house destroyed by fire is to be rebuilt. City Council President Luciano Ribeiro told Lusa that a resident was left homeless and noted that “the bureaucracy associated with the support provided makes it difficult to respond quickly to the needs of the population.”
According to Luciano Ribeiro, the region needs an effective implementation of the Revitalization Plan: “We need concrete actions. Comparing this plan with others, such as the Pinhal Interior plan, which has been going on for seven years, and there are few or no concrete things on the ground, we do not want this plan to follow the same path,” he said.
The mayor, elected by the PS, said that the most important thing for the municipality is to support economic activity, stressing that investments should be made in the Seia Municipal Airfield, both in facilities for companies and in civil protection facilities.
Luciano Ribeiro also highlighted the possibility of adopting a different tax and customs regime for the inter-municipal community of Beiras and Serra da Estrela.
“The municipalities have already advanced in their studies and proposals to be able to decide. Hopefully, the government will also see this as an advantage, given that this government is more sensitive to financial issues.”
The mayor said that within the framework of European rules, more assistance could be provided to companies that want to establish themselves in the region.
The fire that broke out on August 6, 2022 in the municipality of Covilhã (Castelo Branco district) raged for 11 days in the Serra da Estrela, spreading to the municipalities of Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda, Celorico da Beira, Seia and Belmonte.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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