Tax on calamities and natural disasters, from 1 June

Farmers living in flood plains do not have to worry anymore that water cover their fields and should not fear the drought; and this because, for an annual fee of 12 lei for one hectare, the state will be in charge of their land.

Of this money there will be cleaned and maintained the channels and the water pumping stations, or at least this action should be developed by the Land Development specialists.
Moreover, also of this annual amount of 12 lei per hectare, would be paid and the salaries of those in the field.

June the 1st brings a new tax, may have a useful part, but landowners of areas with land improvement already expressed their disapproval.

The Chief Inspector of the National Land Development Agency in Buzău, Claudiu Carpen, said the mission is difficult.

‘For example, regarding the drainage it is our obligation to maintain those channels in func tional status, to unclog, to grub and to clean them, to maintain them practically.’
‘So the moment we receive this money from the beneficiaries, we are obliged to keep the channels functional’, Claudiu Carpen said.

Specifically, for almost 200,000 hectares of cultivated or built land in the county of Buzău the 76 employees of the NALDA engage to provide clean channels and irrigation water to the fullest, and where appropriate grass will be planted, so that land does not erode.

‘At this moment my colleagues are already on the site, we got in touch with the halls, we signed minutes with the halls, we notified them about this regulation and APIA already provided us a number of 20-30000 of owners’, the Chief Inspector of the National Land Development Agency in Buzău added .

Beneficiaries are those owning fields in the land improvement facilities

He also said that the beneficiaries of this measure are the landowners who own fields in land improvement facilities.

‘Where there are drainage channels or soil erosion control, which is the antierosion plantation - for example, the administration unit in Buzău has to be in charge of 120,000 hectares for drainage, soil erosion control for 53,000 hectares and as defense we have two points: in the Vlădeanu Sarat parish, the Pitulicea village , and near Ramnicu Sarat, the Fotini village’, Claudiu Carpen added.

For 12 euro per year per hectare, the Land Development specialists on one hand, must provide these owners the assurance that water from the neighboring channels do not flood their properties during heavy raining and on the other hand, that the same channel is suitable for irrigation.

At the same time, this money ensures the salaries of the employees, because the state no longer funds this institution from 1 June.
And according to the Buzău inhabitants, the idea of flooding or water shortages for crops has to be erased.

Translated by: Iulia Florescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University