Kibray officials cut down fruit trees for a sports project

Videos showing trees being cut down in the Botanika mahalla of Kibray district, Tashkent region, have been circulating on social networks. The Kibray district administration responded to the situation.

According to the administration, based on the proposals and wishes of the youth of the Botanika mahalla, a project to improve and green 34 acres of abandoned land behind the 2nd apartment building, and to construct an indoor football field with artificial turf measuring 20x40 meters (total area of 800 square meters), was selected as the winner in the first season of this year’s “Initiative Budget” project. The project received 1,327 votes from local youth and residents.

Within the framework of the project, to build the modern indoor football field for 1 billion 500 million soums and further green the area with walking paths, three cherry trees, three apricot trees, and one lilac bush—reported to be dried and unmaintainable—were cut down. The felling was carried out with the participation of the heads of the District Ecology and Environmental Protection Department. No moratorium had been imposed on these plants.

The administration stated that the proposals and recommendations of residents were also considered in the project, which aims to improve neighborhood infrastructure, promote mass sports among youth, and create a “green park” offering a comfortable, ecologically clean area for the public.

“We would like to inform you that no law enforcement officials participated in these processes, and there was no pressure, obstruction, or other illegal actions against citizens during the video recording,” the statement read.

However, the videos published online show the district governor personally taking part in the felling of the trees.

It should be recalled that a criminal case was previously initiated in Omonkoton National Nature Park in the Samarkand region over the felling of more than 2,500 rare and Red Book-listed trees.