Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 24 August 2020, at an expanded meeting of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan faction in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, the execution of the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the budgets of state trust funds for the first half of 2020 was discussed.

It was attended by deputies of the lower house of parliament, representatives of relevant ministries and departments, experts, and the media.

It was noted that COVID-19, which humanity is experiencing today, forces all countries of the world to reconsider their plans made earlier this year, and, if necessary, make major changes. Timely practical measures taken in our country to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, ensure the stability of economic sectors, strengthen social protection, and reduce poverty, are yielding results. In this case, of course, an important role was played by the fulfillment of tasks set by a number of decrees and resolutions adopted by the head of state during the pandemic.

According to the report, the execution of the state budget in the first half of the year is focused on macroeconomic stability, sustainable development of the economy and social sphere, attracting foreign investment, creating an attractive investment climate and improving the socio-economic development of regions.

At the end of the first half of this year, the country’s GDP in current prices made up 255.3 trillion. soums, which is 0.2 percent more than in the same period of last year. This was achieved due to the growth of agriculture by 2.8 percent, construction by 7.3, services by 2.6 percent. The production of consumer goods increased by 1.2 percent.

Also, when discussing the execution of the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the budgets of state trust funds for the first quarter of 2020, it was recognized that the costs in this area were reflected in the report.

Despite the global pandemic, special attention is paid to financing environmental activities from the state budget. In the first half of 2020, 1.02 trillion soums will be allocated from the state budget for ecology and environmental protection measures. Of this amount, 9.4 billion soums were directed to measures to protect the atmospheric air (an increase of 1 percent compared to the same period of last year), 7.2 billion soums for water management and land activities, 85.3 billion soums for protection flora and fauna (an increase of 163.1 percent compared to the same period of last year), as well as 22.7 billion soums for environmental activities in the Aral Sea region, 7.8 billion soums for the protection of lands from water and wind erosion and land reclamation lands.

The purchase of special equipment for sanitation enterprises and the arrangement of landfills to improve the collection, neutralization and disposal of waste will amount to 15.7 billion soums and 2.5 billion soums for other environmental protection measures (an increase of 147.1 percent compared to the same period last year).

As you know, the widespread introduction of water-saving technologies is one of the important program tasks of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan. According to the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On measures to expand mechanisms to stimulate the introduction of water-saving technologies in agriculture" from 25 October 2019 in the Republic Karakalpakstan and regions in 2020, 43 825 hectares, including 38 744 hectares, it is planned to introduce 520 hectares of sprinkler systems and 3 560 hectares of discrete (pulsar) irrigation systems.

Today, total water-saving technologies have been introduced in the country on 45 738 hectares or 104 percent, drip irrigation was carried out on 39 511 hectares, or 102 percent of the plan.

As members of the faction emphasized, the funds allocated from the state budget for the environment and environmental protection activities are not always effectively and timely used by the responsible ministries and departments. In particular, 35 billion soums were allocated from the republican budget for the creation and reconstruction of protective trees from wind erosion of irrigated lands and sandy cover of water bodies.

The amounts are provided for the first 6 months of 2020, taking into account the seasonality of the construction of protective trees and their implementation mainly in the spring-autumn period. When analyzing the disbursement of funds as of July 1 of this year, out of 35 billion soums, only 1.5 billion soums were used.

At the meeting, the deputies expressed their opinion on the full implementation of programs and measures aimed at environmental protection and the use of natural resources. Proposals were given, such as expanding the introduction of water-saving technologies in agriculture, including drip irrigation, further increase the allocation of subsidies to entities that have introduced drip irrigation technologies, the widespread introduction of renewable energy sources and create about 28,000 jobs to increase the capacity and efficiency of water treatment facilities, ensure strict observance of the rules of water protection zones.

It was stated that the faction pays special attention to improving the legal framework in the field of ecology and environmental protection. In particular, a new version of the draft Environmental Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Waste" is being developed.

As a result of the event, the report submitted by the Government was approved and a decision was made on this issue.