Farm minister Henk Bleker received almost €175,000 in government grants to allow six hectares of farmland revert to the wild, Trouw reports on Tuesday.

One of Bleker’s first acts on his appointment as minister was to slash subsidies for developing natural habitats, Trouw says.
Trouw obtained the documents under freedom of information legislation.
Bleker’s wife formally applied for the money in 2005, but Bleker co-signed the legal documents, the paper says. The couple have since divorced.
Most of the money was compensation for the lower value of non-agricultural land but just over €30,000 was to change the layout of the land.