Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 27 October 2020, a joint meeting of the Committee on Youth Affairs, Culture and Sports of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis and the Bukhara Regional Kengash of People’s Deputies was held in Bukhara region.

At the meeting, the results of the study by the Working Group of the Senate Committee on Youth Affairs, Culture and Sports of the state of execution in the Bukhara region of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the protection and use of cultural heritage sites" were discussed.

The meeting was attended by senators, deputies of local Kengashes, deputies of the Youth Parliament, officials of the relevant ministries and departments, as well as representatives of the media.

It was noted that in accordance with the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers from 4 October 2019 "On Approval of the National List of Real Estate Objects of Material Cultural Heritage", 829 objects were included in the National List of Real Estate Objects of Material Cultural Heritage in the Bukhara region. Of these, 287 are archaeological sites, 507 are architectural objects, 18 are places of interest and 17 are monumental monuments.

During the meeting, it was emphasized that the study of these objects revealed a number of shortcomings and problems in the field of cultural heritage. In particular, according to the Law on the Protection and Use of Cultural Heritage Sites, residential buildings of the population must be located at a distance of at least 50 meters from the protected area of local material cultural heritage sites and 100 meters from national material cultural heritage sites. However, many objects in Bukhara region do not meet this requirement. Thus, the working group found that hundreds of houses were built around the security zone of the mosques "Kassoboni bolo", "Bozori kaymok", "Boborahimboy" and historical monuments "Toshhamm" in the Gijduvan region.

Until now, the fulfillment, on the basis of international criteria, of the task of preparing documents for the inclusion of 7 objects of transboundary monuments "Silk Road: the Zarafshan River and the Kairakum direction" (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), located in the Bukhara region, namely the Chor-Bakr and Bahauddin Naqshband, architectural objects: the Vabkent minor and the Chashma-Ayyub mausoleum, as well as the remains of the ancient cities of Poikent, Varakhsha, Vardanzi in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In the protected areas of cultural heritage sites, it was revealed that in zone 3 of the archaeological sites, various auxiliary and outbuildings were built. In accordance with the established procedure, an appeal was sent to the khokimiyats of the Djondor, Bukhara, Shafirkan and Kagan districts with a request to eliminate them. However, the khokimiyats of Djondor, Bukhara and Kagan districts ignored this appeal. In the region, state control is exercised over the observance by legal entities and individuals of legislation on the protection and use of objects of material cultural heritage. In 2019-2020, the relevant documents drawn up in 10 cases in accordance with Article 64 of the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Administrative Responsibility were submitted to the Bukhara city prosecutor’s office. As a result, by the decision of the Administrative Court, administrative fines were imposed on 3 citizens. However, there is no information on what measures were taken in the remaining 7 cases.

The corresponding decree of the President stipulates that active citizens on a voluntary and competitive basis, based on the decision of the council of the makhalla assembly of makhalla citizens, are approved by public inspectors for the protection of material and cultural heritage. Also, a special Charter was approved for their activities. However, in the process of studying in the region, it was revealed that the execution of this order was not fully ensured. In particular, public inspectors are not attached to the three historical sites of Gijduvan district. The inspectors are not provided with statutes. The chairman of the makhalla citizens’ gathering is absolutely not informed about this. As a result, a landfill has been set up near the Cassaboni Bolo Mosque, damaging the value of the tangible cultural heritage site.

It was also revealed that 3 premises of the Mirzo Ulugbek madrasah, which is part of the Abdukholik Gijduvani complex in Gijduvan district, have been turned into a warehouse for food and other items. At the same time, the requirements for the protection of the historical object were grossly violated.

At the meeting, the heads of the relevant ministries and departments were given instructions on how to solve the above problems.

A joint resolution of the Senate Committee and the Bukhara Regional Kengash of People’s Deputies was adopted on the considered issue.