A rigorous message that after June 15, expiring the deadline for the Cleaning of dangerous plots Of their owners, fines will be imposed by the Fire Department, which will also take responsibility for the ministerial decision and will have the controls, sent by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yiannis Kefalogiannis, informing the Regional and Environmental Protection Committees for the Ministry of Environment and Protection.
“As you know, an extension has been extended to the obligation to clean up and submit a statement by the citizens by June 15, taking into account both the best weather conditions this year and some practical difficulties that have prevented landowners from responding early until April 30.
However, facilities stop here. From now on, the responsibility and the application of the law begins. Responsibility of property owners clean their property. Municipalities are responsible for checking, imposing fines and proceeding with ex officio cleaning on dangerous plots.
From June 15th, the fire brigade will be justified in checking one by one the complaints of citizens on the basis of a new ministerial decision that will be issued in the coming days and will impose fines where needed, ”Mr Kefalogiannis said. and completed:
“There is also individual responsibility in the issue of cleaning the plots. A cleaned plot protects both the property itself and the neighboring ones. It is a simple act with a significant contribution that we must incorporate into our perception of protection and prevention from fires.
The citizen is not a mere recipient of instructions. He is a participant and a co -ordinator of Civil Protection. I would dare to say that it is the most critical link in the chain. When the citizen knows what to do, he saves himself, his home and his neighbor. Give you an example. Do you know what was the most common cause of fire in 2024? The negligence. Last year we had 1,950 cases of fires, which are linked to rural work, such as burning pruning and crop residues. These include so -called cleansing fires, ie fires that are deliberately cleaning areas of dense bushy vegetation in order to create or maintain herds. We also had another 156 incidents from outdoor work, that is, tools, that is, agricultural machinery. “
Mr Kefalogiannis also called for the need for the training of the rural world in taking on fire protection measures, which, he said, would be institutional in the coming period, and emphasized the important role of local government, assuring that the next time it would be institutionally and financially supported.
“The Region and the Municipality are the first to see the fire, which will decide where the residents will go, who will open the school for shelter, which will close a road. It is the Region and the Municipality that is developing local risk -being plans that implement prevention actions that manages evacuations and refuge, coordinating voluntary civil protection groups, informing citizens and forming a culture of readiness. There is no doubt that he often performs this project under adverse conditions. We must – and we will do so next time – to enhance it institutionally and financially to accomplish this difficult task, “the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection said.
He also announced that “the Presidential Decree 575 of 1980 will be updated, the country’s areas of the country will be re -evaluated and ranking to the risk of forest fires to make a more rational hierarchy and launch of fire protection projects to protect forest ecosystems”.
As he said, “from 2022 until today, cleaning, maintenance of the forest road network and fire zones of EUR 610 million have been implemented and are underway, of which 210 have been budgeted for 2025”.
“Since March of this year, € 40 million has also been committed to the beneficiary of local government for the implementation of fire protection actions in 2025, a budget increased by 9 million with 2024. Equipment and operating expenses. “