A meeting was held under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. At the meeting, issues of ensuring the stability of the environmental situation, including waste recycling, were discussed in detail, and reports from responsible officials on winter preparations were heard. The report of the Special Commission on improving the environmental situation in the city of Tashkent was heard. Measures taken to combat air pollution, identify sources of pollution, and eliminate them were discussed. As noted, the influence of a cold anticyclone has been intensifying over the country's territory in recent days. As a result, atmospheric pressure increases, temperature decreases, and inversion phenomena intensify. Under such conditions, small particles do not ascend and accumulate in the lower layers of the air. It was noted that due to meteorological conditions, the natural purification of the atmosphere is slowing down. Information was presented on the work being carried out to identify sources of air pollution and limit their activities.
Specifically, inspections were conducted at greenhouses, construction sites, motor vehicles, and facilities engaged in illegal activities; stabilization measures such as watering streets, cleaning irrigation ditches, and launching fountains were carried out. Raids and preventive measures are ongoing in an intensified manner. The President instructed to continue these measures not only in the capital but also in the regions, promptly eliminate identified violations, and ensure strict control over all factors affecting air quality. Projects for generating electricity from household waste worth $933 million have been launched in six regions—Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Tashkent—but no significant progress is being observed in other regions.
In projects that have already been launched, the work to provide investors with infrastructure—roads, electricity, and water supply—is not organized at the proper level. Regional khokimiyats and the National Committee for Ecology were instructed to eliminate existing shortcomings and launch similar projects in the remaining regions next year. By 2030, it is planned to reduce the number of solid waste landfills by 50 percent. Over the past few years, 47 landfills have been closed and reclaimed, resulting in 243 hectares of land returning to nature. However, most of the 132 existing landfills still lack protective barriers, green belts, water supply systems, and environmental safety facilities.
– This negatively affects the environment and causes public dissatisfaction. Therefore, municipal solid waste landfills must be transformed into ecologically safe zones. First and foremost, we must ensure people's satisfaction in this area. This topic should be approached not only as waste management but also as a direction closely linked to industry, energy, and environmental culture," the President emphasized. Responsible officials were instructed to bring the reclaimed lands of 47 landfills into economic circulation, create "green zones," and implement new investment projects. It is necessary to form a "green belt" around all existing landfills, completing the planting of trees and seedlings in half of the sites in spring and in the second half in autumn. Starting from 2026, at least 150 billion soums will be allocated annually from the budget for these works.
Over the past two years, the level of processing previously unprocessed industrial and hazardous waste has been brought to 4.5 percent. The insufficiency of this indicator was noted. Instructions were given to conduct an inventory of industrial and hazardous waste generation and storage sites and to implement at least one project for their processing and disposal. Instructions were also given to create a unified information and monitoring platform for hazardous waste control. At the meeting, it was noted that shortcomings remain in providing the population with liquefied gas on preferential terms, and cases of embezzlement are being recorded. The "Hududgazta'minot" system was instructed to eliminate such facts, work on a district-by-district basis, and resolve the population's problems.
Instructions were given to conduct an inventory of worn-out electrical networks and overloaded transformers and to ensure their stable operation. It was established that 1,800 kilometers of electrical networks were repaired poorly. The Prosecutor General's Office has been tasked with studying these cases and ensuring the rule of law, while the Energy Inspectorate has been instructed to restructure control activities based on new approaches and transition to working in a state of emergency.
The need for the uninterrupted supply of energy resources to the population during the winter season was emphasized. Fire safety issues were addressed separately. It was noted that the fire safety status of more than 44,000 multi-story buildings across the country must be fully studied, and the emergency response system must be prepared for potential risks. The need to introduce strict requirements into legislation prohibiting the use of flammable materials on the exterior walls of buildings was emphasized. In this regard, it was instructed to develop a draft law on bringing construction norms and fire safety rules in multi-story buildings into line with international practice and strengthening the responsibility of officials.
Issues regarding the coordination of communal services and the improvement of the rapid response system in emergency situations were discussed. Based on the experience of the past season, it was instructed to form working groups at the district level across the republic, integrate all utility services and management service companies into the dispatch system of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and strengthen door-to-door preventive work.
