MD wants to simplify the expropriation of land for roads and highways

Prague/Brno - The Ministry of Transport wants to accelerate and simplify the expropriation of private land designated for the construction of roads and highways. It has therefore prepared an amendment to the expropriation law, according to which a court's decision regarding the compensation for the landowner will not have suspensive effects on the expropriation itself. This was stated by Jiří Hodač, Deputy Minister of Transport. The amendment could come into effect at the beginning of next year. The shadow transport minister of the ČSSD, Roman Onderka, supports its adoption.
    The current practice is such that the state must offer the landowner the so-called customary price. However, this price is not specified anywhere. Landowners often do not agree with it and dispute with the state for many years. If the dispute reaches court, the state must wait for the final ruling before proceeding with the expropriation, which delays and increases the cost of constructing new road sections.
    "The main change is that we will take the land, a price will be offered, and he will take it to court, but we will already be able to start construction on that land," Hodač stated. According to him, this will significantly accelerate the construction of new roads and also limit speculative land purchases. Such practices are often used by ecological associations when they want to prevent construction in nature conservation areas. "Speculators will have bad luck," Hodač summarized.
    The shadow transport minister for the ČSSD and the mayor of Brno, Roman Onderka, told ČTK that this is an important amendment that the Czech Republic needs. He will therefore support its adoption, even though it is proposed by the Ministry of Transport. "It's a technical proposal. It's not about ideology or politics," he said. He added that he would discuss this topic with social democratic MPs and hopes that they will support the measure.
    The most well-known example of a private individual blocking the construction of a significant transport artery is the case of farmer Ludmila Havránková. Her lands are located near Hradec Králové in areas where the D11 highway is supposed to run. Havránková wants other lands instead of money for her fields; moreover, to complicate the expropriation, she sold part of the land to ecologists. As a result, drivers must travel the last five kilometers to Hradec on a lower-class road.
    In the Czech Republic, there are currently 330 kilometers of roads under construction, including 107 kilometers of highways. The total value of the projects is 120 billion crowns. The interests of the Ministry of Transport on one side and landowners and ecologists on the other are likely to clash during the construction of the southern Bohemian D3 highway, which is planned to run through recreational areas around the Sázava River in Central Bohemia.