The retired Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov presented a mechanism to assist municipalities in the fight against natural disasters, informs novini.bg. Under the new measure "Employment without Barriers" local authorities will be able to hire the permanently unemployed, people with disabilities and other representatives of disadvantaged groups to prevent and minimize damage from fires and floods and to eliminate their consequences.
In recent years, there have been constant natural phenomena that create huge obstacles and lead to human casualties. The latest were the huge floods, fires. Then the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy reacted by providing 14 million leva again through the fire department to the municipalities for prevention and volunteers. Now - we are providing 40 million euros to the municipalities and municipal enterprises for preliminary cleaning of ravines, afforestation of dry rivers. So that it does not happen that when the problem has come we look for funds to repair the damage and say what we have not done, announced Gutsanov.
We have made it so that people who are unemployed, people who are registered with the Employment Agency, are hired, so that we can also reduce unemployment and help the mayors of the municipalities. The salary will be a minimum wage, and for graduates a minimum wage + 50%, the minister in resignation also specified. According to him, the program starts in less than a month.
I think this is a program that will contribute to measures being taken in advance, and not after the problem has arisen to wonder how it happened and why the state was not in its place, he added.
The new national program for disaster prevention by cleaning ravines and risky terrains is an important step towards a lasting solution to a long-standing problem for municipalities, said Donka Mihaylova, deputy chairwoman of the National Association of Municipalities. According to her, the issue of silted ravines and riverbeds is extremely serious, especially for mountainous municipalities.
"First of all, many of the ravines are not marked on the cadastral maps of the municipalities. Second - The Forest Law places restrictions on their cleaning, including with regard to fallen wood, and the lack of clarity about ownership and responsibilities makes their long-term maintenance difficult. These ravines traditionally create problems during heavy rains and are the cause of flooding in populated areas," Mihaylova also noted.
She also explained that each municipality will determine the specific terrains that will be included in the program.