Uzbekistan will allocate roughly 1.5 trillion sums ($120.6 million) in 2025–26 for projects aimed at reducing air pollution. The figures were provided on December 3 by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Djamshid Kuchkarov and Jusipbek Kazbekov, deputy head of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, in their responses to questions from members of the Oliy Majlis.
During a session of the Legislative Chamber, lawmakers asked how much funding the government plans to allocate in 2026 for industrial filtration equipment, wastewater treatment installations, and other environmental measures. Kazbekov said that Tashkent is expected to receive 548 billion sums ($45.6 million) from additional budget revenues. Kuchkarov added that another 900 billion sums ($75 million) will be directed to air-quality programs nationwide by the end of 2025.
In late November, Uzbekistan intensified efforts to combat air pollution and eliminate sources of harmful emissions. A presidential decree created a special commission to implement urgent measures to improve environmental conditions in Tashkent. The commission is chaired by Saida Mirziyoyeva, the president’s elder daughter and head of the presidential administration. The commission conducts daily inspections of greenhouses and industrial sites to identify and shut down facilities polluting the air in Tashkent and its outskirts. At the same time, city authorities are humidifying streets, clearing irrigation channels, and switching on public fountains.
The commission reports to the president almost daily. Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ordered that Tashkent’s approach to fighting air pollution be extended to all regions of the country. Since then, media have reported similar inspections in the Andijan, Fergana, Bukhara, and other regions.
There have also been instances of what local media describe as “excesses on the ground.” In the Shahrikhan district of Andijan Region, at least three cafés had their tandyrs — traditional clay ovens used to bake samsa — demolished with an excavator on orders from the district hokim (administrator). A video of the destruction was posted on the district administration’s Telegram channel.
The administration said that “strict temporary shutdown measures” were being applied to food-service and household-services businesses that fail to meet environmental requirements.
The video triggered widespread public backlash. The post was later removed, and the head of the district received a reprimand from the Andijan regional hokim. Notably, the official’s name — Hikmatillo Dadakhonov — was not mentioned in the reprimand. It also remains unclear whether the affected cafés will be compensated for the damage.
