Date: January 6, 2023 Time: 20:14:36
The President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, has requested a hearing before the Council of State in relation to the Hydrological Plan that directly affects the Tagus River and in view of the eventual modification of the provisions contained in the document. Page’s initiative is launched at a time when both Murcia and Valencia, with their regional presidents at the helm, have protested the cuts in the transfer of water for irrigation that is established to safeguard the riverbed at its headwaters.
In the hearing request, sent last Thursday, and reported by the regional government this Friday, the head of the regional Executive points out that the Hydrological Plans of the third planning cycle were reported favorably by the National Water Council on November 29 of 2022, after which they were presented to the State for its opinion.
The Castilian-La Mancha president indicates in his letter that the autonomous community he presides over is an interested party in the hydrological plans of the intra-community basins that make up its geography, especially those of the Tagus, Guadiana, Júcar and Segura, and that the eventual “modification in the provisions contained in these plans”, and specifically in the Tajo, would affect Castilla-La Mancha.
The Tagus cannot be abused
That is why President García-Page has requested the hearing of the Council of State. The regional Executive alleges that “the Tagus cannot be abused any more” and that “the reality of climate change forces this, to change the rules of exploitation” of the transfer from the Tagus to Segura.
It also highlights that this community has never opposed diversions for human consumption, but has stressed that it is not permissible for the Tagus River to continue losing water at its headwaters for artificial observation.
