The Madrid City Council requests 60.9 million from the Government of Spain for the expenses caused by the Filomena storm. To do this, it has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) so that the Executive of Pedro Sánchez assumes all the emergency expenses caused by Filomena, as reported this Thursday by the municipal spokesperson, Inmaculada Sanz, in press conference after the meeting of the Governing Board.
The municipal legal services of the City Council directed by Almeida have filed a lawsuit this Thursday in the Contentious Chamber of the TSJM, requesting the challenge of the resolution of the Government delegate in Madrid, in which a partial subsidy was granted for the expenses considered of emergency derived from the Filomena storm, which only amounted to 1.46 million, when the request presented by the Madrid City Council was situated at 60.9 million euros.
In the lawsuit, the City Council affirms that the resolution of the challenged Government Delegation "is totally devoid of motivation, since this municipal Administration has been prevented from knowing why certain expenses have been subsidized in accordance with Royal Decree Law 10/2021 and others do not” and demands that “the estimate of the total emergency expenses derived from the Filomena storm claimed be agreed upon”.
Sanz explained that the Consistory included in its claim the effects that the storm produced in the city of Madrid, as well as the different works and actions carried out to alleviate the damage suffered.
Regarding the effects on mobility in the city of Madrid, action was taken on the removal of snow from streets and squares, as well as on the application of fluxes, the supply of hardware material to the Samur Service and Civil Protection, the supply and installation of snow plows for the Samur Service, the supply of chains for municipal emergency vehicles, actions on the M-30 ring road or accommodation for officials of the Municipal Police force due to the impossibility of travel.
In addition, Filomena had effects on the provision of municipal public services such as the funeral service, public transport or the traffic management and surveillance service; as well as in municipal facilities such as sports centers, educational centers attached to the districts or cleaning work, clearing access and spreading salt in essential equipment.
It also had effects on the trees and other green areas in the city of Madrid, such as actions on trees, historical, singular and forest parks, as well as on the urban drainage network or actions at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
The municipal spokesperson has indicated some examples of expenses that have not been taken into account by the Government Delegation in its resolution, such as the supply of salt on the road in the Salamanca district, the only district whose performance, in relation to this expense, does not has been subsidized. Or, for example, the expenses caused by the removal of fallen trees and branches, the evaluation of all the tree positions and the pruning and felling work necessary to avoid risks of collapses or falls of trees or branches on people.
Nor was it taken into account, according to the lawsuit, the work to remove snow and ice from roads and sidewalks; cleaning work in the areas of influence of the urban drainage elements or the supply of blankets, duvets, shelter material and paraffin heaters for distribution by the municipal fire brigade in those areas of Madrid with special needs and that have been admitted as Eligible expenses by jurisprudence in certain cases.
