Draft Law on Environmental Offenses Passed in First Reading

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis reviewed in the first reading a draft law aimed at regulating violations in the fields of environmental protection, ecology, and natural resource use.

The document provides measures to prevent offenses, including illegal felling of trees and shrubs, violations of water resource protection, and emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere exceeding permissible limits.

The draft law introduces amendments to the Laws “On Nature Protection,” “On the Protection and Use of Plant Life,” and the Code of Administrative Liability.

Specifically, it establishes financial penalties for legal entities for illegal extraction of non-metallic materials in riverbeds, water pollution, violation of vegetation protection requirements, failure to implement measures to reduce dust and sand particles at construction sites, and burning fuel or waste in unauthorized locations.

In addition, fines are imposed for violations in the collection, transport, storage, disposal, processing, and sale of industrial and other waste.

Deputies noted that the adoption of the law will strengthen environmental protection, reduce negative impacts on public health, and encouraged further proposals to improve the document. The draft law was approved in the first reading.