Hungary requires a rural policy that provides people living in the country's many small settlements a living and an opportunity to get ahead in the future, the Minister for Rural Development declared at the joint foundation stone laying ceremony of the Water Quality Improvement Programmes of the towns of Abádszalók and Tiszaroff in Hungary's Northern Great Plains region on Thursday.

Minister Sándor Fazekas called the project, which has come about thanks to cooperation between the two settlements, "important and required". The people living in rural areas of the country also pay enough taxes to enable the realisation of development projects, that local governments would otherwise be incapable of funding, with the help of the Hungarian state, he added.

Similarly to the past four years, in future Hungary needs a rural policy that builds on local capabilities to create jobs and assure a standard of living for the inhabitants of small settlements that is equal to that of city dwellers, he pointed out. According to the Minister, the new project represents the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Tiszaroff; the project gives impetus towards the completion of other projects and public utility modernisations works in the settlement.

He promised the support of the Government and the Ministry of Rural Development towards facilitating the rise of the town of Tiszaroff, which is rich in historic sights and monuments. Mayor Zolst Kamarás said that the European Union had provided over 442 million forints (EUR 1.4m) in funding towards the project, which will cost a total of over 500 million. As part of the construction work, which will begin this week, both Tiszaroff and Abádszalók will receive new deep-water wells, their waterworks and water towers will be renovated and the existing water reservoirs will be expanded and modernised.

In addition, experts will free drinking water from iron, manganese and ammonia impurities and the system and 8 kilometres of public water network will be fully cleansed. As a result of the Programme, the water quality of the two settlements will conform to even the strictest regulations.

(MTI)