From Friday on, careless owners who don’t weed out ragweed from their gardens will be fined.
From 1 July, every garden or land owner is required to remove the highly allergenic ragweed from their property. The crofts will be monitored by 30 public space supervisors. The supervisors will take photos and consult the land office for the owner’s data which will be forwarded to the local government which, in turn, will take measures against the careless owner. He will be called on to do the necessary weeding and in case he isn’t willing to do so, the local government will order a forced mowing and impose fines the amount of which may reach 5 million HUF.
Preliminary surveys show that the constant monitoring is successful: ragweed-contamination inside Debrecen has diminished. On the outskirts, however, some owners are still negligent. The data collected by the Plant Protection directorate reveal that regulatory measures must be taken on 400-500 acres of land every year. This number might decrease this year.
