Following the DANA that the region experienced in September 2019, the project for the recovery and renewal of Vega Baja was christened Plan Vega Renhace by Botànic, headed by Ximo Puig, giving way to a new conflict between PSPV-PSOE and PP. at the expense of next year’s budgets. Consell from the socialist sectors is accused of reducing the allocation of most of the strategic works of this project to only 10,000 eurosIn an attempt to erase any trace of Puig’s work.
Far from that, Popular ones argue that the investment in the 2024 accounts in the southern region of the province is close to 75 million euros, to which they added another 37 million euros from European funds that will go to Vega Baja.. Along with the data, the PP underlines the commitment of Generalitat president Carlos Mazón, among others, to this region and the modernization of infrastructure in order to avoid a repeat of previous disasters. . As proof of this, it is recalled that one of the first plenary sessions held by the new Consell took place in Orihuela to commemorate the fourth anniversary of DANA, and Mazón himself was one of the Alicante politicians who opposed it most harshly. The cuts made by the government in the Tajo-Segura transfer.
Project
Since next year’s budget project became known, PSPV has condemned the cuts resulting from the Vega Renhace Plan. They recently stated through Water in Cortes spokesman David López: “Elimination of the strategic plan for the future of the region” could lead to “serious consequences” in the economic, social and environmental recovery of Vega Baja. “The only thing the PP doesn’t like about this plan that has proven to be effective is that his party doesn’t support it,” says López.
In his accusation, the Socialist MP stated that the budget for the few remaining works from the original project was reduced to the reference amount of 10,000 euros and stated the following: Many executions postponed until 2025. Finally, at PSPV they regret that this plan was born out of political consensus and that Consell wants to end it due to a partisan issue, so the PP is called on not to break the channels of dialogue with city councils no matter what. By evaluating their political orientation, a call is made to maintain unity and make efforts to rebuild the region after the natural disaster.
Faced with these accusations, Consell argues that the 27 municipalities that make up Vega Baja allocated $74.3 million to investment chapters. 37.5 million of their 2024 budget consists of European funds for remediation targeting the southern region and an additional 3.5 million funds managed by the Valencian Community Public Agency for Wastewater Sanitation (Epsar).
Popular circles criticize the Vega Renhace Plan as not having a high level of implementation, pointing out that it is also called a marketing operation by Puig in the region, and that there is no real allowance for this project in the Generalitat budgets. . It is also stated that one of the most important actions of this initiative, the scanning of Segura’s mouth, has not yet been completed. In this sense, it should be taken into account that the powers of the Segura Hydrographic Confederation come into play here and that the plan supported by Botànic contributes to putting pressure on the Government body, at least at the political level.
Vega Renhace was created with the aim of initiating projects that would alleviate the impact of floods in Vega Baja.. One of the criticisms it received was that it later included infrastructure investments that were not related to the initial target, such as education and health. There were two direct actions of a regional nature; The first of these is in 2021 with 16 million, and the second is in 2022 with 13.5 million. Proponents of this project also point out that Puig’s political commitment is real and that Consell’s presence in the region has increased significantly. As proof of this, they consider the fact that PSPV did not lose votes in the elections of 28 million people, despite the great growth of PP.
What happened in Vega Baja is similar to the Elche case and the Generalitat’s 43 million debt to the city For the land on which Miguel Hernández University was built. In this sense, it is reminded that former president Puig, from PSPV ranks, signed a protocol regarding the payment of the debt in October last year. Consell argues that this document is not valid, but that there is a “genuine plan” from the Management to allocate millions more from the budgets to Elche.
Palace of the Marquis de Rafal as one of the elements of the dispute
The different visions shown by PP and PSPV-PSOE regarding the Vega Renhace Plan can be seen in the Marqués de Rafal Palace in Orihuela. Regarding the Oriolano property, critics of Botànic’s actions point out that it was included as part of a project launched to reduce the impact of flooding in the area and was not realigned. Socialist ranks argue that the Generalitat bought it for 2.4 million (half what the owners wanted) and that this reflected Consell’s steadfast commitment to Vega Baja as the autonomous Government’s first seat of independent government. state capital.
This situation worsened this week after Consell announced that he would keep the Marqués de Rafal Palace closed due to its status as a semi-ruined and unlicensed residence. The Government of Carlos Mazón will not open the building purchased by the Generalitat in 2022 due to its poor condition and lack of accessibility.