The government decided to pay out EUR 15m for the damage caused by a string of recent storms that have wreaked havoc in parts of Slovenia. The money will be taken out of the provisions in the national budget.
At its session on Thursday, the government decided that more than half of the total aid would be given to municipalities, which will get the money within two days, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said.
Most of the money is intended for clean-up and reconstruction following two storms in August, although around 10% will also go for repairs to schools hit by a storm in mid-June.
While there is no final estimate of the storm damage, Jansa said it was clear that it would exceed the 0.03% threshold at required for state aid. The hardest-hit were municipalities in the east and north-east of Slovenia.
Apart from the EUR 7.83m for the hardest-hit municipalities, the government will pay EUR 400,000 to firefighting and rescue services, EUR 3m to the Red Cross and Caritas for the delivery of aid, EUR 1.9m for the removal of asbestos roofing and EUR 250,000 for an info point in Ptuj.
Jansa announced that the government would also appointed a government task force, headed by Environment Minister Janez Podobnik, which will oversee the distribution of the aid.
Moreover, the government tasked the Finance Ministry to assist taxpayers affected by the storms by either writing off their taxes or giving them an opportunity to pay in installments.
The Government Development Office was tasked with organising a permanent advisory service to offer advice on appropriate construction and planning of buildings.
The Labour Ministry has been asked to urgently provide the required work permits for builders specialising in roofing and other workers assisting with the clean-up and rebuilding efforts.
According to the Slovenian Protection and Rescue Administration, a total of 11,518 housing units, 14,439 commercial buildings, 55 schools and 163 other public buildings were affected by the recent storms.
The greatest damage was registered in the municipalities of Ptuj, Destrnik, Sveti Jurij ob Scavnici, Kozje and Podcetrtek.
Moreover, 47,029 hectares of agricultural land (about 20% of all farm land) were damaged by the storms, including 1,880 hectares that were completely destroyed.
Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc promised measures to help farmers rebuild, including with the early payment of subsidies and special financing of projects for the rebuilding of plantations.
Slovenia's three leading insurers have reported total claims for storm damage this summer to stand at around EUR 83m, while they point out that many of the buildings and much of the agricultural land was not insured.
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