The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) approved on Monday a NT$2.31 billion (US$7.27 million) budget for the 2009 to 2012 period to improve the quality of the nation’s funeral service industry.
Under the plan, proposed by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), NT$1.7 billion would be allocated to the central government and NT$610 million in subsidies sent to local governments to carry out the measure, which is focused primarily on redesigning and renovating existing cemeteries.
Beginning in January, each township will be able to apply for funding for one renovation project. Approved projects would receive subsidies of as much as NT$10 million.
The nation’s 319 townships count 2,000 public cemeteries covering 80 million square meters, but planning is inefficient and the designs are poor. Overhauling their haphazard setup was a top priority.
The government said that by renovating some of the cemeteries and encouraging higher cremation rates, 80,000 square meters of land could be freed for other uses.
The budget also includes provisions for building new funeral parlors and cremation sites every year, with each project eligible to receive subsidies of as much as NT$50 million.
The plan also calls for a NT$3 million subsidy for the purchase of crematorium and air-pollution control equipment by local governments.
Meanwhile, the council also approved an NT$8 billion plan to improve and expand the country’s sidewalks and bikeways over the next four years, starting next year.
The announcement came as a growing number of residents ride bicycles to work or for fun amid high fuel prices and efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Under the proposal, made by the MOI, the number of sidewalks around the country that can be described as “friendly” would be raised from 11.95 percent to 40 percent of total sidewalks, the council said in a statement.
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