About 300 farmers in free Famagusta are in danger of being brought to justice, as they still have overdue debts to the Department of Water Development, for water they consumed for irrigation purposes in 2012.
According to a representative of the Department, farmers have the last chance to repay the above debts until the last working day of this month. Otherwise, their cases will now be sent to the Attorney General's Office, to be summoned before the courts.
However, such a development is not in the interest of these farmers at all. In addition to the value of the water plus additional tax plus a fine that they will be required to pay, in addition they will have to repay the value of the water they consumed in 2013.
It is noted that the case concerns farmers who are connected with the project of the Southern Pipeline, through which the Kokkinochoria are irrigated for agricultural purposes, from the Kourris dam in the province of Limassol.
At the same time, dozens of other farmers in free Famagusta still have open cases before the Court for debts to the Water Department, for debts of previous years since 2012.
It is also worth mentioning that the Water Department offers a series of facilities to the rural world in terms of repayment of irrigation water, which is charged at about 17 cents per metric ton.
In recent years, however, a large number of farmers have been facing financial difficulties in settling their obligations to the Water Department. The main excuse given by farmers is that the low prices of their products and often the bad weather they face in potato production do not allow them to be consistent in their financial obligations.
Source: FILELEFTHEROS