The Government of the Canary Islands has announced the allocation of an additional 30,000 euros to help people who lost their main home as a result of a volcanic eruption in Palma.
At the same time, an additional 10,000 euros will be allocated as a direct payment from the cabildo («municipal council») in Palma.
All this is in addition to the 60,000 euros already paid by the Spanish government.
Additional payments are one of the main agreements reached at the meeting of the Joint Commission for the Reconstruction, Restoration and Support of Palma. The meeting was held in the island's capital, Santa Cruz de la Palma.
The discussion of the current situation was led by Felix Bolanos, a member of the Ministry of Mediation (MPR), Angel Victor Torres, President of the Canary Islands, as well as Mariano Hernandez Zapata, Chairman of the island's cabildo.
The payments of an additional 30,000 euros announced by Angel Torres after the meeting can be intended both purely for the purchase of land on the island, and obtained in the form of direct assistance for «common purposes». This uncertainty has yet to be clarified.
At the same time, 10,000 euros from calbido is guaranteed to be a direct help for any purpose. This money will be made up of donations and the council's own funds. This was reported by Mariano Zapata.
At the moment, about 11.24 million euros have already been paid to the victims within the framework of 206 resolved cases.
Another agreement of the Joint Commission was the decision to allow the affected homeowners to build new houses on land, in ordinary cases, not intended for settlement. We are talking about rural lands, uncultivated and natural territories.
Due to the agreement, such a permit applies to territories outside the municipalities of Tasacorte, El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane. But only if the victims already owned the land before they lost it as a result of the eruption.