New minister Chalupa to focus on pollution, anti-flood measures

Prague, Jan 17 (CTK) - New Czech Environment Minister Tomas Chalupa (Civic Democrats, ODS) will focus on air pollution, anti-flood measures, the Sumava National Park and the subsidy programme for house insulation, Chalupa said after being put in charge of the ministry Monday.

Prime Minister Petr Necas (ODS) inaugurated Chalupa in the new office after his appointment by President Vaclav Klaus at Prague Castle.

Necas said Chalupa will promote a common sense policy. Chalupa's task is to make the ministry trustworthy again, he added.

Chalupa's predecessor Pavel Drobil (ODS) resigned in December over suspected corruption at the State Environment Fund (SFZP). One of Drobil's aide allegedly wanted public orders to be manipulated to gain money for the ODS and Drobil's career.

Chalupa said he will order an audit at the SFZP and only then he will declare a competition for a new director of the fund.

It was the SFZP former director Libor Michalek who told Drobil about the suspected corruption. He later reported it to the police, producing secret recordings of talks with Drobil and the controversial aide. Drobil distanced himself from his aide and sacked Michalek as director.

The Czech branch of Transparency International (TI) corruption watchdog has called for the return of Michalek to the post. By Michalek's dismissal, Czech politicians give a clear signal to the citizens that those reporting corruption would be punished, TI indicated.

The opposition Social Democrats criticise the fact that Chalupa, like his predecessor Drobil, has no special knowledge of environment protection.

"It has recently become a rule that non-experts are appointed to top posts," CSSD shadow environment minister Vaclav Zemek said.

The extra-parliamentary Green Party said the appointment of Chalupa illustrates a deep programme and personnel crisis of the ODS. The Greens headed the Environment Ministry in 2006-2009.

Greens chairman Ondrej Liska said Necas's statement that the ministry should be managed non-ideologically and non-dogmatically is an attempt to "cover the fact that the ODS does not know what to do in environment protection."

Chalupa is also to choose a new director of the Sumava National Park. Frantisek Krejci resigned as the park's director two months ago over disputes with the ministry.

Krejci was appointed by former environment minister Martin Bursik (Greens) who said there should be no human intervention into the ecosystem in the most protected zones of the park. Disputes over fighting the bark-beetle and over Drobil wanted to revise this concept. A number of municipalities in the Sumava region were against Krejci, arguing that the strict rules harm them economically.

Chalupa said Monday the ministry would work out a new bill on Sumava to deal with all the issues concerned.

In the 1990s, Chalupa was a journalist spokesman for the government, then headed by Klaus. He held the post of mayor of a Prague district in the past eight years.

Six environmental groups, including the Friends of the Earth and Calla, offered cooperation to Chalupa last week. The NGOs expect him to protect green zones in towns and forests, push through a new bill on air pollution, make waste sorting easier for people and continue with offering subsidies for house insulation.

These groups believe Chalupa should also promote the lowering of carbon dioxide emissions, push through a sustainable energy strategy and prevent the increasing of noise limits.