Owners of overgrown land to be fined

The owners of land plots overgrown with weeds will be fined from 400 to 3,000 lei in the case of individuals and from 3,000 to 10,000 lei in the case of legal entities under an amendment to the Code of Administrative Offenses, which was approved by the Government at its meeting on Wednesday. Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov noted that the area of uncared-for land has constantly increased in the last three years, reaching 250,000 hectares of the total 2 million hectares of farm land, according to the National Statistics Bureau. “This phenomenon represents a major source of weed infestation and creates favorable conditions for crop diseases and pests, narrows space for crops, makes farming works more difficult, and increases costs”, said the Minister. Asked whether fines will be also imposed on elderly people who are not able to care for their plots, the Minister suggested that everyone is equal before the law and these persons could let or sell their plots to avoid fines. The amendment will take effect 12 months after its adoption by Parliament. Until then, the Ministry of Agriculture will develop a mechanism for identifying uncared-for land and the criteria to be used by the inspection commissions.