With 34 votes in favor, 3 against and no abstentions, the Parliament yesterday passed an amending bill on special water saving measures, making it a criminal offense to wash walls, windows of premises and private boats with a hose and increasing the amount of penalties and extrajudicial fines.
According to the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, the said bill and regulations were discussed in five sessions.
The purpose of the bill is to modernize the legal framework and enhance the effectiveness of water conservation policy by tightening penalties and improving the implementation of control measures in relation to the waste of water for unnecessary uses, with the aim of rational management of water resources.
The bill provides that the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment is the competent authority for general supervision purposes and the determination of the authorities that will be responsible for the implementation of the individual provisions.
It also provides for an expansion of the cases in which the consumption of water with a hose constitutes a criminal offense by adding a ban on washing walls, windows of premises and private boats and establishing exceptions to ensure the activity of businesses that demonstrably use water for professional purposes.
It provides for an increase in the amount of penalties and extrajudicial fines, and a procedure for implementing the extrajudicial regulation.
It provides the possibility of authorizing a person by the competent authority with a service purchase contract, for the purposes of exercising any of its powers or responsibilities and determining the powers and duties of this person, as well as the possibility of examining by the competent authority a complaint submitted by any person.
It also provides the possibility of submitting an objection to the notice served for violation of the provisions of the law.
Regulations were also approved, the purpose of which is to repeal the Water Conservation (Special Measures) Regulations of 1991 and 1998.
Source: KYPE
