"Via Lietuva willing to compromise with farmers?
On Friday, an extended meeting of the Presidium of the Lithuanian Farmers' Union (LFA) took place at the Lithuanian Agricultural Advisory Service, Agroakademija (Kėdainiai district), where farmers met with representatives of AB „Via Lietuva“, which has recently been in the centre of the attention of the negative context.
After the recent disagreement between farmers and road workers on road maintenance, Martynas Gedaminskas, Head of Infrastructure Support and Development Group of „Via Lietuva“ and Remigijus Lipkevičius, Head of Stakeholder Relations Development, were present at the meeting and, according to LŪS, were in a mood of goodwill for a good discussion and, after presenting their report, acknowledged the need for a serious discussion on this topic between the two sides.
The point is that after complaints from „Via Lietuva“, officials of the State Territorial Planning and Building Inspectorate started to record violations by farmers, who are allegedly expanding their crops too close to the road, thereby violating the law.
Farmers face fines of €300 and legal persons can be fined between €600 and €1,200.
„The guests thanked the farmers for the fact that they often help the road workers on their own initiative by mowing the roadsides and clearing the snow in winter“, &bdash; „LŪS“ wrote on Facebook“.
Lithuania has around 21,000 km of roads, and the funding allocated for their maintenance only covers about half of the work needed to do so.
Due to the lack of funds for road maintenance, roadsides are not being cleaned up in time, and farmers, not wanting to leave their fields in the path of weeds from the roadsides, often plough the roadside elements, i.e. the roadside ditches, and even the verges in the absence of roadside ditches, while cultivating the land adjacent to the national roads.
„Via Lietuva“ representatives assured that they do not punish farmers themselves – complaints received about such cases are examined by the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment. Therefore, it is suggested to clarify the situation first and „Via Lietuva“ is ready to find a mutually beneficial solution.
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