Citizen causes 700 billion sums of environmental damage in Tashkent

A citizen in the Tashkent region has caused nearly 700 billion soums in environmental damage, according to a report from the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change.  

The Ecological Control Inspectorate of the Ministry conducted a routine raid in the Chirchik River area, where they discovered that A.Q., a local resident, was illegally extracting natural sand and gravel from the river. The materials were being transported using a Volvo excavator and two HOWO trucks to the stone crushing plant of “S.Q.M” LLC. This activity violated both the “On Nature Protection” and “On Subsoil Resources” laws. In response, the state inspectors impounded the vehicles involved in the illegal operation until further investigation clarified the situation.  

The unlawful sand and gravel extraction led to an environmental loss amounting to 674 billion 048 million 699 thousand 520 sums. The collected evidence has been forwarded to the Prosecutor General's Office for legal evaluation and further action against those responsible. 

In a related case, earlier this year, a man in the Kashkadarya region caused over 1.5 billion soums in damage to nature by illegally keeping two rare birds. The birds were seized and transferred to the “Zarafshon” National Nature Park in Samarkand for rehabilitation and temporary legal protection until the case is resolved.