Permit for water: A (nearly) impossible mission

The week brought the familiar promise once again: we will ease the procedures for water extraction and the construction of wells. Sounds good, right? It does, but if we hadn't heard it at least ten times over the past years. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the idea is for farmers to finally not wait months for permits from the Ministry of Environment and Water, and for the process to become "easier and faster." But reality, as always, is somewhat different - drier (literally and figuratively). The problem is not with the law, but with the bureaucracy It is a fact that the Ministry of Agriculture may promise reforms, but it does not issue the permits – that is the job of the Basin Directorates. And that is where farmers encounter a wall. "The documents are pending because the data have not been updated," commented Lyudmil Rabotov, chairman of the Plovdiv grain producers, for Agri.BG some time ago. And so, every season, farmers start a race against time - which will come ...