KIEV, July 29 – The government on Tuesday submitted to Parliament amendments to the 2008 budget seeking to increase emergency funding to western regions that suffered from the worst floods in 100 years.

The amendments call for adding about 1.5 billion hryvnias to the special reserve fund that will be used to fund several regions that had been worst hit by the floods. The fund now has about 200 million hryvnia on its account.

In addition, the government seeks to increase by about 800 million hryvnias spending on infrastructure, such as road reconstruction, reflecting the need to repair roads that have been damaged by the floods.

“We will ask to debate this bill as the first priority,” Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Tuesday.

Lawmakers are expected to get together for an emergency session on Thursday to approve the amendments. The task is a challenge, as many of 450 lawmakers are currently traveling overseas. Parliament is officially in summer recess until September 4.

Storms and floods that hit Ukraine’s western regions on Sunday and Monday forced evacuation of abut 20,000 people throughout the regions, causing damages to the infrastructure and farms.

The government has earlier estimated the cost of the damage at up to 1.6 billion hryvnias, with the amendments reflecting those estimates.

President Viktor Yushchenko declared the emergency in six Ukrainian regions after the floods, and Parliament has to approve those emergencies within the next three days.

Tymoshenko has been already unsuccessfully seeking to approve amendments to the 2008 budget in July to incorporate greater rate of inflation expected in 2008.

The government suggested revising the inflation forecast to 15.9% in 2008, up from the original forecast of 9.6%, after the prices have skyrocketed this year, led by food and energy prices.

But many economists said even the latest inflation forecast is too optimistic after consumer prices had increased 15.5% in January through the end of June. Over the past 12 month period, the prices increased about 30%.

Tymoshenko’s amendments, however, failed to be approved in July, with lawmakers going on the summer recess. Now, the flooding in western Ukraine and media attention provides another opportunity or the government to approve the amendments, which now also includes emergency funding to repair the damage in flooded areas.

The law calls for adjusting the social payments to the poor if inflation proves to be greater-than-expected by the government during the year, which is the reason why the government needed to approve the amendments in the first place.

Also, due to greater than expected economic growth and robust imports, the government is expected to collect 32 billion hryvnias more in revenue, which can be spent only after the amendments are approved. (tl/ez)