There are still families without homes due to the 2017 fires. They want to sue the State

There are situations in which works were tendered and paid for, but never progressed on the ground. Around 20 families who lost their first home are still waiting for their homes to be reconstructed.

Nearly 20 families from the Central Region They remain, almost nine years after the fires of October 2017, waiting for their initial homes to be rebuilt.

The complaint is made by MAAVIM – Associative Movement to Support Victims of the Fires of Midões, which accompanies the victims and admits move forward with a complaint against the State Portuguese at the European Court of Human Rights, if all national channels are exhausted.

The movement’s spokesperson, Nuno Tavares Pereirais expected to speak this week at the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Rural Fire Affairs, reporting on situations that, according to him, remain unresolved and fuel feelings of injustice and abandonment.

According to MAAVIM, there are situations in which works were put out to tender, with contracts signed, companies paid and supervision ensured, but the houses were never actually built. For some families, this reality increases a scenario of precariousness since 2017, says the .

The Center Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDRC) recognizes that received 1340 support requestsof which 849 were included in the Permanent Housing Recovery Support Program (PARHP). The rest were left out for different reasons, such as not using their houses as permanent residence, legal irregularities or lack of documentation. There are still cases of undeclared insurance claims.

According to the CCDRC, most of the processes are closed, with only some administrative appeals and legal actions in the resolution phase, distributed across municipalities such as Pampilhosa da Serra, Poiares and Vouzela. The entity guarantees that it is working with the competent ministries to complete pending processes by 2026.

Still, MAAVIM maintains that the global process was marked by failures and injustices, pointing out responsibilities to public authorities.