It is expected that at least two more tenders, each with a budget of HUF 5 billion, will be announced in the Magyar Falu program.

The government commissioner responsible for the development of modern settlements, Alpár Gyopáros, said in the settlement of Nógrád County that the results of the HUF 10 billion tender, which has just expired, are expected to be announced at the end of March. it was possible to apply for the purchase of equipment necessary for the operation of schools, kindergartens and the mayor's office.

Alpár Gyopáros explained that, as in previous years, a new target area for support is being planned this year, based on the proposals of the village mayors.

He also mentioned that in Hungary, approximately 3 million people live in settlements with less than 5,000 inhabitants. They are affected by the intensive development program, he said. Speaking about the developments, he said: they affect practically everything related to the life of the village, including municipal services, churches, civil organizations, businesses, but also transport.

Alpár Gyopáros emphasized: the basic principle of the government is that the Hungarian village program, since its launch in 2018, must be built from the bottom up as well as from the top, "in no way a program in which a Budapest government official tells what he is doing behind a desk in a Budapest state office the villages need them; the villages themselves say this".

The government commissioner also met with mayors in Nógrád on Thursday.

He said: hundreds of similar professional consultations have already been held with tens of thousands of participants, suggestions, opinions, and well-intentioned criticisms are also expressed at these meetings, and all of these are incorporated into the Hungarian Village program.

Mihály Balla, the Fidesz member of parliament for the region, reported at the event that since 2019 HUF 14.4 billion has arrived in West Nógrád thanks to the winning tenders of the Hungarian village program, and on top of that another HUF 8 billion as a result of the village council. This affects 82 small settlements, he added.

Mayor Richárd Varga (Fidesz-KDNP) said that the village of Nógrád has won almost HUF 300 million in the program in recent years.

MTI

Cover image: Alpár Gyopáros, Government Commissioner responsible for the development of modern settlements at the Prime Minister's Office
Source: MTI/Lajos Soós