According to the Bukhara Regional Department of Ecology and Climate Change, 12 ornamental fir trees were illegally cut down on the premises of the former Telephone-Telegraph building in Bukhara city. The inspection was launched following multiple reports on social media.

Inspectors from the Bukhara City Ecology Department documented the violation. An administrative protocol was drawn up against the offender under Part 1 of Article 79 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility. A fine of 10.3 million UZS was imposed, and the damage to nature was calculated at 95.584 million UZS.

Under Article 79 of the Administrative Code, illegal cutting of trees, shrubs, or other plants entails a fine for citizens ranging from 25 to 50 times the base calculation amount (10.3–20.6 million UZS), and for officials from 50 to 75 times (20.6–30.9 million UZS).

The amount of damage was calculated based on Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 464 of November 22, 2022. According to the document, during the moratorium on cutting valuable tree and shrub species not included in the state forest fund, the damage is calculated at double the rate.

It is worth recalling that since 2022, Uzbekistan has extended indefinitely the moratorium on cutting valuable tree and shrub species outside the state forest fund. According to the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change, in 2025, 2,328 violations related to illegal tree and shrub cutting were recorded nationwide. The highest numbers were in Tashkent city, Bukhara region, and Karakalpakstan. These violations caused 13.3 billion UZS in environmental damage.

Source: www.gazeta.uz