The Czech government decided yesterday to transfer state land free of charge to 17 municipalities in the Moravia-Silesia and Olomouc regions that were affected by the September floods, announced Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny (KDU-CSL) at a press conference.
The land, totalling around 42 hectares, will be used to build new housing for the people whose homes were destroyed by the severe flooding.
According to Vyborny, the land transfer is intended to ensure that people who lost their homes due to the floods will not leave the affected areas.
The minister pointed out that without support, 2,000 to 4,000 people could leave the Jesenik district, which would seriously damage the area. The provision of land should allow people to stay in their own villages, but away from areas which are at risk from a recurrence of flooding in the future.
The government will transfer the land, previously owned by the State Land Office, to 11 municipalities in the Moravia-Silesia Region and six municipalities in the Olomouc Region. The municipalities will then allocate them to those affected by the floods, either free of charge or in exchange for their original plots. The state could then build flood protection barriers on the land.
A condition for the transfer of the land is that it is used to build houses or apartment buildings. The construction would have to start within two years of the land being entered into the land register, and approval would have to be given within five years. The land cannot be used for anything but housing.
The September floods hit mainly the Moravia-Silesia and Olomouc regions. The government has quantified the total damage at CZK 70.6 billion, including roughly CZK 25 billion in damage to private property of citizens and companies, and about CZK 45 billion to property of the state, regions and municipalities.
