Cabinet to approve compensation for wildfire victims on Wednesday

The Cabinet is on Wednesday, 30 July set to approve proposals that competent Ministries are preparing regarding compensation for those affected by the devastating fires in the Limassol district.

Speaking to CNA on 28 July, following the President's televised address on 27 July, the Director of the Agriculture Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Artemis Antoniades, said that the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panayiotou, will submit two drafts to the Council of Ministers for approval.

The first concerns a de minimis plan for the payment of income losses for one year to all farmers and livestock breeders in the fire-stricken area. Those who have applied for an area subsidy for 2025, which number 985 according to Antoniades, are not required to submit an application for this purpose. He added that applications from people who are not registered with the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization will be accepted until Friday. By Sunday, 182 people had submitted applications, which will be processed so that they can receive this aid.

According to Dr. Antoniades, the second proposal to be submitted by the Minister concerns another plan that the Department of Agriculture is preparing to announce for the reactivation of affected producers. Those wishing to resume their activities will be able to submit an application to the Department of Agriculture within 15 days of the date of the announcement and will receive a 30% advance payment, which will correspond to the total eligible aid.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Interior, funds have been paid to community councils to cover emergency needs, while district administration crews continue to record the damage with a view to submitting a compensation proposal for the restoration of homes and infrastructure to the next meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The aim, as CNA learns, is to start paying part of the compensation immediately, with priority given to those whose permanent residences were impacted.

(Source: CNA)