Mayors of 19 municipalities in Segrià and Les Garrigues have asked the Generalitat de Catalunya to double the Nuclear Transition Fund line for the agricultural sector from five to 10 million euros. The request also includes the two comarcal councils and affects towns located between 10 and 30 kilometers from the Ascó and Vandellós power plants.
The request comes after the Ministry of Agriculture opened a call for applications this year for five million euros for agricultural holdings in perimeters I and II of the Penta plan. The mayors argue that this amount is insufficient for a territory to which the same fund aims to offer economic alternatives in view of the future closure of the nuclear power plants.
The mayors asked Ramon Armengol to increase the allocation to 10 million
Manel Solé, mayor of La Granja d'Escarp, explained that municipal representatives have already conveyed this demand to the Director General of Rural Development, Ramon Armengol, in recent meetings held in Segrià.
"They have already conveyed this request to the Director General of Rural Development, Ramon Armengol, in recent meetings in Segrià" - Manel Solé, mayor of La Granja d'Escarp
In those conversations, Solé added, the mayors argued that the current allocation needs to be doubled. The goal is for the specific line for agricultural holdings to increase from five to 10 million euros.
The municipalities promoting the request are 19 in total, with 10 in Les Garrigues and nine in Segrià. All are included in the Penta II perimeter, the area located between 10 and 30 kilometers from the Ascó and Vandellós nuclear power plants.
The bases set a minimum of 3,000 euros and require half of the farm to be in the zone
The Generalitat de Catalunya has already published the final approval of the bases for the Nuclear Agricultural Fund. The regulation stipulates that each project must demonstrate a minimum investment of 3,000 euros to be eligible for aid.
In addition, beneficiary holdings will have to have at least 50% of their farmland or farms within the affected municipalities. This requirement limits access to the call for applications based on the actual implementation of the activity in the area included in the plan.
The fund financing this line comes from a tax on nuclear activities. Its purpose is to boost the local economy in areas close to the power plants before their closure.
The planned aid may be used for the purchase of machinery and investments in livestock farming that allow for an increase in the capacity registered in the livestock farm registry. They will also cover the purchase or construction of real estate, provided it is not housing.
Manel Solé, mayor of La Granja d'Escarp, specified that the municipalities' request is to raise a call for proposals, which this year was launched with an initial allocation of five million euros, to ten million euros.