Mirziyoyev assigned practical tasks to address environmental problems

On December 1, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on environmental sustainability, winter preparedness, and fire safety, during which the issue of improving air quality was also addressed. The information was reported by the presidential press service.

During the meeting, issues of environmental sustainability, including waste recycling, were thoroughly reviewed, and reports by responsible officials on preparations for the winter season were heard.

First, the report of the special commission on improving the environmental situation in Tashkent was presented.

Officials briefed on recent efforts to identify sources of air pollution and restrict their activities. These included inspections of greenhouses, construction sites, vehicles, and illegally operating facilities, as well as stabilization measures such as watering streets across the city, cleaning canals, and activating fountains.

The President instructed that such measures be continued systematically not only in the capital but also across the regions, ensuring the swift elimination of identified violations and the strict control of all factors affecting air quality.

Projects worth $933 million aimed at generating electricity from household waste have been launched in six regions — Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent — but no significant progress is observed in other regions. Even in the ongoing projects, the provision of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and water for investors is insufficient.

Regional administrations and the National Committee for Ecology were tasked with addressing shortcomings and launching similar projects next year in the remaining regions.

A goal has been set to reduce household waste in landfills by 50 percent by 2030. In recent years, 47 landfills have been closed and recultivated, returning 243 hectares of land to nature. However, it was noted that most of the 132 currently operating landfills still lack protective barriers, “green belts,” water supply, and environmental safety facilities.

“This negatively affects the environment and is causing public discontent. Therefore, it is necessary to turn household waste landfills into environmentally safe areas. First of all, we must ensure public approval of this sector. We must approach this issue not only as waste management, but as a direction closely linked with industry, energy, and environmental culture,” the President said.

Officials were instructed to put the land of the 47 recultivated sites back into use by creating green areas and implementing new investment projects there. All existing landfills should be surrounded by green belts, and tree planting should be completed at half of the sites in spring and at the other half in autumn.

Starting from 2026, at least 150 billion soums will be allocated annually from the state budget for these efforts.

The meeting also highlighted that shortcomings remain in the supply of liquefied gas under preferential terms, with cases of embezzlement still occurring. Hududgazta’minot was instructed to eliminate these issues and address public complaints by visiting each district. Work was also ordered to inventory outdated power lines and overloaded transformers and ensure their stable operation.