Ninety-two per cent of eligible settlements, meaning almost all settlements have already been awarded development funds through the Hungarian Villages Programme, the government commissioner responsible for the development of Hungarian settlements stated on Monday in Budapest.

At a press conference, Alpár Gyopáros outlined the results of the 23rd and 24th rounds of the programme launched in 2019.

Four hundred and nineteen settlements have been awarded grants for the procurement of equipment for the maintenance of public spaces from an allocation worth HUF 3 billion. The purpose of the call for proposals is to improve the overall appearance of settlements so that small settlements can retain their village appeal, he said.

The government commissioner highlighted that they had already launched such a call for proposal last year as well. As a result, in two years almost two thousand settlements have been given access to development funds.

They typically use the grants for the procurement of tractors, small machines and equipment, lawn-mowers and strimmers, he added.

As part of the call for proposals for the development of nursery school playgrounds and communal playgrounds with an allocation of HUF 2 billion, 469 settlements have been awarded funds. From the grants, they can purchase or refurbish outdoor playground equipment to the maximum value of HUF 5 million, while the grants can also be used for the construction of fences and landscaping. This call for proposals, too, was available last year as well, and through this they have been able to support the development of around a thousand settlements.

In answer to a question, he said every year they review the themes of the calls for proposals of the Hungarian Villages Programme, and they repeat popular calls for proposals, meaning that similar calls for proposals could be announced next year as well.

Mr Gyopáros highlighted that the government is paying for the Hungarian Villages Programme entirely from budgetary funds.

They devised and are implementing the programme together with villages. It was in consequence of this arrangement that the call for proposals regarding the development of nursery school playgrounds was supplemented – in response to feedback from settlements – with the possibility of the development of communal playgrounds. As a result, also settlements without nursery schools were able to submit proposals, he stated.

So far, 8,540 proposals have been awarded as part of the Hungarian Villages Programme, involving as many as 2,658 settlements. There are another 14 rounds of the programme left, the government commissioner said, taking the view that around another 1,300 to 1,500 proposals could be awarded from the total allocation of HUF 40 billion.

The ten thousandth awarded proposal of the programme will be announced before the end of this year, he added.

(MTI/Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)