Prague - The government will now be able to complete the construction of the D11 motorway from Prague to Hradec Králové, which has for years ended in the middle of a field a few kilometres before the east Bohemian city.
The cabinet yesterday reversed its previous stance and yielded to the demands of farmer Ludmila Havránková, who previously refused to give up her land, on which the last stretch of the road is to be built.
Following a recommendation from the Transport Ministry, the government originally pushed a financial compensation, but Havránková insisted she wanted another piece of land. This summer, the negotiations were taken over by the Agriculture Ministry, who finally decided to oblige the farmer.
"The cabinet has approved a proposal to exchange land for land," said Transport Ministry spokesman Petr Vorlíček for Aktuálně.cz.
Havránková will receive 253 hectares of farmland in exchange for giving up 10.6 hectares needed for the road extension. The government expects the motorway will be completed in about two years.
We'll just keep farming
"I'm glad that it's finally over for me," Havránková told Aktuálně.cz. "I'll now be able to have a normal life and keep my farming business."
The government was unable to reach an agreement with the family for 16 years. From the very beginning, the Havráneks insisted they would only concede if they get new farmland. But the Transport Ministry ignored the demands. It proposed financial compensation, the cabinet approved it, but the family was unwavering.
After the Transport Ministry threatened to expropriate the land, the Agriculture Ministry weighed in. After a meeting with Mrs Havránková, the Agriculture Ministry presented the cabinet with a new proposal to accept her requirements. The ministers approved the land swap yesterday.
It remains unclear where the farm will move, but Pozemkový fond, the agency in charge of state-owned land, previously said the land has already been earmarked and is ready for ownership transfer.
"I can assure you that we will use the land for farming," said Havránková. "We are no speculators and we've never wanted anything other than to keep our farming business."
A precedent for future land disputes?
Deputy Transport Minister Jiří Hodač, who was in charge of the previous, unsuccessful negotiations with the family, is now distancing himself from the government's latest decision.
His ministry was unwilling to accept Havránková's requirements out of fear that the case might inspire other owners, whose land is needed for highway construction.
"We always said we would be happy if someone else solved the case for us," Hodač told Aktuálně.cz yesterday. "And as for our previous concerns about a precedent the case may set - it now won't be our precedent, but someone else's."
