Puerto Naos and La Bombilla remain evicted, more than 70 people live in hotels and this Friday the ILP arrives at Parliament
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, September 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, defended this Tuesday the management of the Executive in the reconstruction process of La Palma two years after the volcanic eruption and after mobilizing some 640 million.
Pestana has indicated that the Government continues working to alleviate the “serious consequences” of the La Palma volcano and recalled that it was always “clear” as it was one of the “greatest challenges in recent decades in relation to a natural disaster.” . in all Europe.
“It was not just about enduring damage to homes, or the temporary paralysis of economic activities, but the impact of the eruption on thousands of life projects, on the island’s main sources of income and on a natural heritage of incalculable value. For this reason, we had to act quickly and decisively and, above all, in coordination and collaboration with the rest of the administrations. And the result has been very positive,” he adds in a note from the Delegation.
Thus, in these two years the Government has mobilized aid and investments for an amount that exceeds 640 million euros, with measures that have benefited more than 33,100 families, companies and workers in the primary sector.
Since the beginning of the emergency due to the eruption of the volcano, nearly 700 aid was paid for total or partial loss of housing, for an amount of 35.62 million euros, 99% of the estimated total, and it was also modified the general regulations so that usufructuary persons, essentially widows, could access this aid.
Likewise, the State agreed to two subsidies for a total amount of 17 million euros to collaborate in the delivery of 108 homes and the financing of the acquisition of household goods for 1,030 families carried out by the Government of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.
For its part, the Insurance Compensation Consortium quickly began to pay the corresponding compensation for the loss of property, which today amounts to 236.3 million euros in total, after having processed nearly 10,600 applications.
In addition, the central and regional governments have agreed on a special housing plan for Puerto Naos and La Bombilla, with 6 million euros contributed by each administration, which makes it possible to respond to the needs of residents who still cannot access these neighborhoods through the presence of toxic gases.
REDUCTIONS IN IRPF
The Delegation also points out that reductions worth 160 million euros in the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) were applied to the taxpayers of La Palma and two employment plans financed by the State with 93 million euros were approved. In total, they have allowed the hiring of more than 2,200 workers, support for the self-employed and SMEs, as well as the direct payment of 1,100 euros to people affected by an ERTE.
Likewise, not only the ERTE (which 1,879 workers have taken advantage of, for an amount paid of 10.8 million euros) have been extended until December 31, but also the benefit for cessation of activity for the self-employed (who have received by 1,186 self-employed workers, for an amount of 7.6 million euros), and also paying 28.2 million euros in aid to the primary sector.
To deal with the reconstruction of municipal infrastructure damaged by the volcanic eruption, the Government of Spain has also agreed to finance 50 percent of the costs, which so far represents an investment of 38.5 million state euros, after the signing of the corresponding agreements with the Cabildo and the town councils of Tazacorte, El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane.
Since last May 25, road communication between Puerto Naos and Tazacorte has been operational.
A WORK THAT CONTINUES FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION
Now, says Pestana, “once the first phase of emergency and compensation to the affected people is completed, the Government is also currently working on the reconstruction of the island, to make La Palma an island of the future, modern, and ambitious. an island that makes us feel even more proud of being palm trees and that places us as a world benchmark in sustainability and urban planning.”
To this end, the Government of Spain has agreed on a special plan for tourism recovery co-financed with the Government of the Canary Islands and measures to support science, such as 3 million euros for innovative projects to alleviate the presence of toxic gases in Puerto Naos and La Bombilla, or the 2.5 million euros in aid for scientific research entities.
Likewise, the granting of state subsidies worth more than 40 million euros has been approved for the defense of the natural heritage and biodiversity of the island, in enclaves such as the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, as well as 10 million have been transferred of euros to the Government of the Canary Islands for the diversification of production and support for the business community.
“We said it at the beginning of the emergency, we repeated it when the eruption ended and we continue to reiterate it now: we will go hand in hand with the island for as long as necessary and with the resources that are needed. La Palma has a future, and it is a sustainable future environmentally, urban planning, economically and socially”, emphasizes the Government delegate in the Canary Islands.
Along these lines, he highlights that we continue to “work side by side with the rest of the executives, always under the same premise, that each and every one of the inhabitants of the beautiful island can recover their dreams and their life projects.”
MORE THAN 70 PEOPLE STILL IN HOTELS
Despite the efforts of all the administrations involved, the Cumbre Vieja lava devastated more than 1,500 buildings and some 1,700 properties, and the towns of La Bombilla and Puerto Naos – one of the island’s tourist attractions – continue to be evacuated by the gas emission.
Furthermore, according to data from the Cabildo of La Palma, apart from the homes that have been provisionally delivered to those affected, plus those who receive rental aid, 72 people are still staying in hotels, 31 in wooden houses and 85 in container houses.
To help reconstruction, this Friday a Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP) will be presented to Parliament, endorsed by more than 18,000 signatures, which promotes the development and approval of the first ‘volcano law’ of the Canary Islands.
