The head of KOWR pointed out that each time KOWR receives an application for the sale of land from the agricultural resources of the State Treasury, consent to the transaction must be given by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
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Smolarz noted that currently KOWR only sells land “that is not useful for improving the agrarian structure”.
“These are small plots of 10, 20, 30 ares, and the scale is about 4,000 hectares. This is what we have in the plan that we are implementing to sort out ownership issues,” he said.
He added that other transactions can only be concluded when the current tenants submit an appropriate application to the KOWR local branch. The application is forwarded to the headquarters, which “after positive opinions from social councils, trade unions and agricultural chambers”, presents it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which issues consent to the sale.
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– So far, such transactions have taken place when it was necessary for the development of farms – noted the director general of KOWR.
Smolarz reminded that on Tuesday the government adopted a draft amendment, which provides that the Real Estate Agricultural Property of the State Treasury will not be sold until April 30, 2036.
Scandal involving a plot of land crucial to the construction of the CPK. KOWR activities under the microscope
At the end of October, Wirtualna Polska announced that in 2023, shortly before PiS gave up power, the Ministry of Agriculture gave consent to the sale by KOWR to the vice-president of Dawtona, Piotr Wielgomas, of a plot of 160 ha, through which the high-speed rail line from Warsaw to the CPK airport is to run..
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According to the portal, in 2023, but before the transaction, Dawton's company was visited by the then Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus. Ultimately, the sale transaction was concluded on December 1, 2023, shortly before PiS returned to power. According to WP, the value of the plot could increase even several times, and soon it could cost up to PLN 400 million.
KOWR buys the plot
On Thursday, the National Support Center for Agriculture announced that a notarial deed is to be signed on Friday regarding the purchase by KOWR of a plot of land located in Zabłotnia from its current owner, Piotr Wielgomas. Land is needed to build a railway line to CPK. After signing the document, KOWR will issue an official statement on this matter, containing detailed information.
Henryk Smolarz, general director of KOWR, informed in November that the plot in Zabłotnia will be returned for the original purchase price, i.e. PLN 22.76 million. The Minister of Agriculture, Stefan Krajewski, said that two notifications had been sent to the prosecutor's office regarding irregularities in the sale of the plot.
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Krajewski also assessed that the management of the National Agricultural Support Center acted sluggishly in the case of the plot in Zabłotnia, although it ultimately led to its recovery. He added that the director of KOWR, Henryk Smolarz, received a “yellow card” and two people – the deputy director of the Resource Management Department and the head of the Organizational Department at OT KOWR in Warsaw – were dismissed from their positions on October 30.
