Present at the session, the councilor with the portfolio for Urbanism, Pedro Baganha, clarified that the program includes an appropriation of 50 thousand euros and determines a maximum value of 7,500 euros per beneficiary.

The program is intended to improve the conditions of mobility and accessibility of private homes where people with permanent disabilities reside, namely people in wheelchairs, people with the inability to walk or travel long distances, and people with sensory difficulties.

According to the councilor, this program arises within the scope of another similar program, which was proposed by the Government within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), but whose conditions were not accepted by the municipality.

"It was proposed by the Government that the council replace the owners, with the council being the one to carry out the works and take on the burden of the warranty period for the same work", he said.

Due to "involving unacceptable risks", Pedro Baganha clarified that, as an alternative, the municipality decided to propose this program, which has the same objective, but which differs in the conditions, since the work is paid for by the municipality, but executed by the owner.

The councilor also clarified that those interested can go to Domus Social, a municipal company that will manage the program, and request an advance of 30% to signal the work.

The remaining amount will be paid upon presentation of an invoice to the municipal services.

In addition to works inside the homes, the program also includes the common areas of the buildings where these apartments are located, clarified the councilor, adding that this criterion was added as a result of the public consultation.

"It seems to us that this model is more cautious than the one initially proposed by the Government", he observed.

When asked about the appropriation allocated to the program, the mayor of Porto assured that, if the 50 thousand euros are exhausted, the program will be reinforced.

The constitution of the regulation and respective program was unanimously approved at the private meeting of the municipal executive that took place on January 15.

The regulation was approved by the municipal executive on May 6.

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