Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - The National Association of Electronic Media of Uzbekistan, together with a number of ministries and departments, organized an open dialogue on the topic "Outdoor advertising: rule of law and interests of the population."

The open meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Culture, the State Tax Committee, the Antimonopoly Committee, the Civil Service Agency, the Republican Center for Spirituality and Education, the Tashkent city administration and a number of other institutions, as well as members of the public.

It is known that recently in social networks and in some media there have been various rumors about the placement of outdoor advertising in Tashkent, the root causes of the problem have not been sufficiently studied, various unsubstantiated opinions and assumptions have been expressed. This causes a lot of controversy among the public.

Installation of outdoor advertising structures in our country is regulated by the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Advertising", Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers from 20 February 2020 No. 104 "On regulation of the outdoor advertising market."

With an inventory of 12,318 outdoor advertising structures in the country, 7,108 or 58% of them did not meet the established requirements. In particular, 2,094 of them are located on the roadway, 1,353 are fully owned, 201 of them have no distance.

At the same time, the owners of buildings on the part of entrepreneurs voluntarily eliminated the shortcomings of 1782 of these structures, and 1514 were dismantled by the owners. 514 claims were filed with the court on 2218 structures that were not settled on a voluntary basis.

According to the results of a study conducted in Tashkent, 3207 out of 6630 buildings, or 48%, did not meet the existing requirements. Of these, 1,459 were on the roadway, 1,104 were without owners, and 124 did not comply with the distance rules.

Of the identified shortcomings, 80 were eliminated on a voluntary basis, 11 were dismantled. 425 lawsuits were filed with the court on 1,764 unregulated buildings.

Speaking at an open dialogue, Deputy Head of the Road Traffic Safety Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs E. Bozorov noted that the uneven installation of advertising structures negatively affects road safety and poses a serious threat to the life and health of citizens.

Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Committee M. Makhkamov said that some enterprises hide from taxes in outdoor advertising or do not pay them on time, which leads to a decrease in budget revenues and problems with the implementation of social programs.

In his speech, the head of the department of the Minister of Construction, B. Sodikov, noted that when installing outdoor advertising structures, the norms and rules of urban planning are not sufficiently observed, the appearance and beauty of our cities is undermined.

The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations D. Kambarov noted that the structures of outdoor advertising pose a danger to the life and property of citizens due to unfavorable weather conditions, including strong winds and precipitation, which make it difficult to carry out emergency rescue operations.

Deputy Minister of Justice A. Karimov noted that at a time when wide opportunities for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity are being created in the country, there are violations of the law on outdoor advertising, and also stressed the need to further improve the regulatory framework and unconditional compliance with existing laws.

The director of the Agency for the Protection of Consumer Rights E. Khaytmetov said that companies were given more than 6 months to regulate outdoor advertising structures, and the courts also gave some time to regulate outdoor advertising structures based on mediation, but despite this, a number of economic entities did not accept attention warning.

According to the head of the Republican Center for Spirituality and Education M. Khojimatov, some entrepreneurs are trying to use in a vulgar form the sacred images of Alisher Navoi, Zakhiriddin Muhammad Babur, as well as other great thinkers who have become a symbol of our nation. Such cases, which are open disregard for the spirituality and values of our people, cause serious protests from our compatriots.

Deputy khokim of Tashkent F. Makhmudkhodjaev noted that the image of the capital is the image of the nation, over the past four years Tashkent has radically changed and has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. However, he expressed concern that the chaotic and illegally installed advertising structures on the streets cast a shadow on the beauty of our city, and now the first task of the city administration is to establish strict order and control in this area.

In his speech, deputy of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis Rusul Kusherbayev spoke about the legal regulation of removing advertising structures from busy roads, noting that advertising structures are placed randomly, advertising banners placed along the road pose a danger to traffic, human life and health.

Representatives of ministries and departments who took part in the open dialogue stressed the need to further improve the existing regulatory framework in solving existing problems in this area, paying special attention to the interests of the population, human health and safety, and the prosperity of our cities and villages.

At the same time, representatives of a number of other organizations expressed their suggestions and comments on solving problems on this topic.

The participants in the open dialogue also answered questions from media professionals and bloggers.