In 2024, the first year of systematic monitoring of mandatory land clearing for fire prevention, citizen compliance was generally positive, although many municipalities showed inertia in conducting inspections. This year, however, as clarified by the Minister for Climate Crisis, Giannis Kefalogiannis, extensions are no longer available. The new deadline for land clearing and declaration submission is June 15th.
The submission of the clearing declaration is mandatory via the platform akatharista.apps.gov.gr, with steep penalties for non-compliance: a €1,000 fine for failure to declare, while false declarations carry penalties of up to 2 years imprisonment and fines up to €54,000. It is important to note that once submitted, declarations cannot be corrected or canceled.
To date, 240,000 clearing requests have been recorded. Despite recent rainfall that promotes vegetation growth, citizen response is increasing as the fire prevention season approaches.
Clearing involves the removal of dry materials, hazardous objects, and the thinning of vegetation to prevent the spread of wildfires. The government makes it clear: individual responsibility is crucial in protecting against natural disasters.
