"Urban Development on Top of Former Landfills: An Underestimated Danger", 23 July 2021

While this paper focuses on Tashkent, the problem of residential construction on top of former landfills is much broader and affects many other parts of Uzbekistan. While unmarked on city maps, former landfill sites are there, and the local authorities willingly allocate these land plots for development and construction.

The Law of Uzbekistan on waste management prohibits locating landfills in cities. According to the Sanitary Rules and Regulations governing construction, deep-foundation construction is not allowed on landfill sites – even on reclaimed ones.

...However, both the Interdistrict Administrative Court of Tashkent and the city Prosecutor's Office refused to respond to such environmental violations brought to their attention. The court, after three hearings on a lawsuit filed by the City Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection against the developer, dismissed the claim stating that it was not within its competence and "should be filed with the Interdistrict Economic Court."

...However, both the Interdistrict Administrative Court of Tashkent and the city Prosecutor's Office refused to respond to such environmental violations brought to their attention.

...[T]he fact that landfill sites are not officially registered as such makes it easy for officials to allocate these land plots to developers.