In exactly 74 days, the Tyroleans will be called upon to elect a new state parliament. On Tuesday, Ernst Schöpf, president of the Tyrolean Association of Municipalities, and Leonhard Steiger and Werner Lux of the association “Gemeindeland in Gemeindehand” presented what they called “the largest criminal case in Tyrol”, after a quote from the mayor of Innsbruck, Georg Willi ( greens).
But first: in 1904, as can be read on the website (agrarpapers.tirol), after the “First General Farmer’s Day”, the farmers in Tyrol asked the state government to transfer community property to the beneficiaries. At the time, this was justified by the fact that it corresponded to the people’s legal view that farmers had always owned the land they used. Six years later, on June 30, 1910, the Tyrolean Municipal Act of 1866 was adapted to the requirements of the farmers’ association.
“We’re talking billions here”
Thus, the communities were given the power to transfer the ownership of the forest areas they owned to a few beneficiaries by a mere decision of the municipal council. Since the municipal councils and the state government at that time were mainly made up of farmers, these transfers of ownership proceeded quite quickly.
For example, “in the past 100 years, large parts of the real estate of 170 municipalities have been transferred to about 400 agricultural communities without compensation on behalf of the Tyrolean state policy, which is dominated by the peasant association”, calculates Schöpf , Steiger and Lux, who speak of “billions to assets”. About a fifth of the total area of Tyrol is affected.
“Retransfer possible by simple state law”
This “land grab” became known through research by the Tyrolean Community Association, which was based on land registry surveys and findings of the highest court. “The long-awaited repair of this scandalous condition through the return of the confiscated communal properties to the communities is possible through a simple state law,” Schöpf and his colleagues call on those responsible to act immediately.
By the way: the fact that they are making the “Agrarpapers” public so close to the upcoming state elections is due to “pure coincidence”.
Source: Krone
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