The urban planning zones in the countryside have been revised, the Minister of Interior, Nikos Nouris, announced on Friday after his meeting with the President of the Union of Communities, Andreas Kitromilidis. The aim of the revision is to modernise urban zones so that they can support the modern needs of the countryside, the minister said.
"Today we are announcing the revision of the rural policy statement. That is, we are starting the process of reviewing and amending the planning zones in the countryside in order to modernise them and, of course, to enable them to support the modern social, political and economic development needs of the countryside," he said.
The review covers urban zones in 36 geographical regions and will be completed in three phases, with the first starting on 9 December and lasting four months, followed by subsequent phases on dates to be announced, with the intention of completing the process within 2023.
"In this way we are creating the conditions for urban activity, economic and cultural, in our countryside," he said, adding that this "is perfectly in line with the targeted actions and holistic approach we have for the revitalization of our countryside so that it prospers and of course to address, among other things, the problems of urbanization that currently plague it."
According to the Ministry, requests should be submitted to the Hippodamus Information System, while local authorities are obliged to give citizens the opportunity to discuss the amendments sought and then make public the final recommendations to be submitted to the relevant bodies for study and evaluation.
Emergency financial assistance to residents of communities with an altitude of more than 600m
During the meeting, the Minister also announced the decision of the Council of Ministers, dated 9 November, to grant one-off emergency assistance to all residents of communities with an altitude of more than 600m,
The extraordinary allowance amounts to 50% of the existing allowance in order to help mitigate the problems faced by the residents of these areas.
9,740 households benefit from the scheme.
9,740 households benefit from the scheme. The additional expenditure will amount to €2.6 million, and the total expenditure will be €7.8 million.
7 municipalities are added to the "mountain and remote areas"
Also, as the Minister said, exceptionally, the Ministry of Interior decided that seven more municipalities will be added to the Plan for the support of inhabitants of mountain areas with an altitude of more than 600m.
These communities were not included in the plan until now, as their residential zone is at an altitude of less than 600m, but "these areas have a geographical specificity, they are surrounded by other communities that have already been included in the plan and on the basis of their geographical characteristics it was decided to include them in the plan, starting from the 1st of next year."
"This decision will benefit 1,092 residents of these communities, and the additional expenditure required will be €250,000."
The communities are Mesana, Monagri, Doros, Kedares, Limnatis, Kapilios and Agios Ambrosios of Limassol.
The communities are Mesana, Monagri, Doros, Kedares, Limnatis, Kapilios and Agios Ambrosios of Limassol.
Pension Compensation of Communal Heads
Mr. Nouris also informed that as of January 1, the pension compensation of the Communal Heads will be fully restored to 2013 levels, following a request by the Union of Communities. The Council of Ministers had decided on 31 August to gradually restore the allowance over the next three years.
However, taking into account "the difficult economic climate" and the wider arrangements restoring pay to pre-crisis levels in 2013, it was decided to restore it in full from the new year.
"I am pleased to say, in consultation also with the Minister of Finance, that we have decided today that we will proceed precisely with the full restoration of the pension allowances of the mayors," he said."
The additional expenditure amounts to €610,000, and is expected to be covered by Home Office funds. In addition, it is recalled that a request has already been met for a pension monthly and 13th allowance to the mayors of the communes and the occupied communes, equal to 50% of the pension allowance of the mayors of the free territories.
Inclusion of the communities of Mammari, Deneia and Trullo in the category "Mountainous and Less Favoured Areas"
The debate was also attended by the community mayors of Mammari and Trullo, who, together with the community mayor of Deneia, requested their upgrading from the category of Arid Areas to the category of Mountainous and Less Favoured Areas. The Minister announced that their request had been accepted, as they are the only communities which are located entirely within the Dead Zone.
With the upgrade, the communities will benefit from higher financial support. For example, a family of three is entitled to a maximum aid of €40,000.
"The aim and objective is not only the financial benefits," the Minister said, but "to enable us to attract particularly young people who wish or will wish to stay and build their own homes in our three communities that are within the Neutral Zone. With obvious reasons to enhance population density."
"The government, and in particular the President of the Republic, is particularly sensitive to the issues and problems facing the Cypriot countryside and of course our communities," the Minister said, adding that "it is in this context that we have recently reviewed all the problems, which either remained pending or needed to be settled, and I am today pleased to announce our decisions on all the pending cases that we had before the Ministry of Interior and concern the interests of the communities and of course the citizens living in the countryside.
For his part, the President of the Union of Cyprus Communities, Andreas Kitromilides, said he was quite pleased with what the Interior Minister said today. "They have been standing requests of the Union of Communities for several years and therefore I am obliged to express my satisfaction and the satisfaction of the Union of Cyprus Communities for the announcements we have heard today from the Minister."
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
