Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta announced measures on Tuesday to try to combat a fresh rubbish emergency in the area around the southern city of Naples where organized crime and widespread abuse have created a chronic environmental crisis.
The so-called "terra dei fuochi", the "fire country" between Naples and nearby Caserta has been notorious for decades for uncontrolled deposits of toxic waste that have been blamed for unusually high levels of cancer and other diseases in the area.
"The fire country has become a symbol of everything that has gone wrong in the south," Carlo Trigilia, minister for regional cohesion, told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The decree announced on Tuesday will make it a criminal offence to burn rubbish without authorization and introduce tougher controls on agricultural land, large areas of which have been rendered toxic by uncontrolled waste dumping.
The government will also set aside 600 million euros ($813.39 million) for clean-up operations, which will be added to 300 million euros already pledged by the regional government of Campania.
Illegal dumps and uncontrolled burning of tyres, chemical waste and other toxic material have caused growing alarm with a demonstration in Naples last month drawing some 70,000 protestors.
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