Portal de Lorca
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The general secretary of the PSOE in Lorca and responsible PSRM Water-PSOE, Diego Ferra, today described as "demagogic, antirregionalista and counterproductive to the irrigators' the position of the PP with respect to higher utilization rates of water transfer Tajo-Segura, agreed by the Council of Ministers on November 20.
Ferra said irrigators share the idea that this move comes at the worst time for the severe problems facing the sector, but recalled that the revision of the tariff was approved in 2005 with cost studies of 2004 and has not published its entry into force until 2009.
That is, for five years irrigators have been exempted from the fee update.
Therefore, said the average annual savings since 2005, for irrigation of 9 million per year and is expected to hydrological year the same thing happened again.
Ferra said the PSOE is positioned next to the irrigators Murcia "not refuse to pay the water from the Tagus, but quite the opposite, and this made them legitimacy of their right to receive it."
In that regard, he recalled that members of the Union irrigators Central Irrigation Tajo-Segura (Scrats), want to pay a fee to offset the costs of bringing water from the aqueduct, although they disagree with the rate of rise price of electricity used to pump the water up from Bolarque regulating dam, the dam at the crossroads of the headwaters of the Tagus, Entrepeñas and Buendia, who, according to his calculations, is 120 percent, so should be adjusted.
In this regard, the Socialist Party filed a motion in Parliament yesterday on the City Council requesting to be added to the submission of the application for judicial review which sought to present the irrigators of the Tajo-Segura against the percentage of the price increase electricity used to pump the water.
Rates Exemptions
The Socialist motion, which was approved by all political groups represented in full, also requested that under the drought decree, in force since 2005, the City Council to urge the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs to approve decree law to exempt from payment of part of the fee for the use of the Tajo-Segura in 2009 and would return to irrigators about 12 million euros this year on this account.
It also demanded that another decree law approved in the same direction for 2010 with the addition that is made early enough not to give rise to irrigation communities have to borrow loans to pay fees to an amount then they are in part returned.
Ferra reported that the Government of Spain through the Royal Decree of Drought approved annually since 2005, has allowed exemption from payment for the use of the Tajo-Segura Aqueduct users Tajo-Segura, which has been a savings of 65.8 million euros to the 70,000 water users associated with the Central Union of Irrigation Aqueduct Tajo-Segura (SCRATS) and more than 2.5 million people (3.5 million in summer) that are supplied by the Commonwealth Taibilla Channel (MCT).
With these exceptions (the first to be applied to irrigators and users of Diversion), recipients of this infrastructure are able to minimize the economic effects of the severe drought that has suffered the Cuenca del Segura and the Leader of the Tagus in the last four years.
In total, the SCRATS has been exempted from payment of 36 million euros between 2005 and 2008 by using the Tajo-Segura, while the MCT, which supplies high and 79 municipalities in the Southeast, has not had to pay ( and therefore affect the citizens bill) 29.8 million euros in the last four years.
The Socialist leader said that these exemptions are just one of the measures outlined in the Royal Decree Laws of Drought approved by the Government of Spain, which has overcome the most severe drought known, since reliable records began, without cutting a one minute the supply to the population, while allowed to continue producing crops and agriculture is the sector least affected by the crisis.
In addition, the Government of Spain has made since 2004 in the emergency works Postrasvase worth around 40 million euros, money that has served to renew an infrastructure showing signs of deterioration, and which users have not had to pay one euro.
These works have allowed the postrasvase have reduced losses close to 40 percent, ie, the irrigators have a 40 percent flow that is sent from the Tagus Postrasvase channels.
Ferra said the rising price of services is provided "unpopular" but that "it is also true that users of the Tajo-Segura have benefited particularly from the Government of Spain, since they have only paid in the past five years amortized cost of the work, and have not put a euro rate of transport and maintenance works. "
Source: PSOE de Lorca
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