The Legislative Yuan today passed the third reading of an NT$27 billion (US$859.46 million) special budget to support disaster recovery and reconstruction following extensive flooding in Hualien County.
Hualien County’s Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake breached on Sept. 23 after torrential rains brought by Typhoon Ragasa, flooding Guangfu Township (光復) and the surrounding area.
The special budget totals NT$27 billion in expenditures, with an additional NT$3 billion reserved for future needs, according to the bill.
Photo: Taipei Times
Implementation is scheduled from this year to 2030.
The largest allocation is NT$19.2 billion for economic development, followed by NT$5.6 billion for community development and environmental protection, NT$1.5 billion in contingency funds, NT$600 million for general administration and NT$100 million for social welfare.
The entire budget is to be financed through borrowing.
The legislature passed a special budget act on Oct. 31 to support recovery efforts and disaster victims in the affected areas, setting a budget ceiling of NT$30 billion.
A joint meeting of the legislature’s Finance, Internal Administration, Economics, Transportation, Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene committees passed a preliminary review of the special budget on Nov. 19.
Following cross-party negotiations chaired by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Wednesday last week, the bill passed its third reading today without any reductions or frozen budgetary items.
The plenary session also adopted several accompanying resolutions, including one proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party caucus requiring the premier to deliver a special report to the legislature within two months on reconstruction efforts.
The premier is expected to address the structural safety of the Mataian River landslide dam, upstream sediment removal, short-to-long-term management plans, funding requirements and overall future governance strategies.
Of the total budget, NT$9.1 billion is to be allocated to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, NT$4.4 billion to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, NT$4.3 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture, NT$4.2 billion to the Ministry of Environment, NT$2.8 billion to the Ministry of the Interior, NT$500 million to the Council of Indigenous Peoples, NT$100 million to the Public Construction Commission and NT$100 million to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Additional reporting by Hollie Younger
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