The Tepa (Kultepa) archaeological site in the Parkent district of the Tashkent province suffered enormous damage due to the illegal sale of part of the land to a brick production plant, the Anti-Corruption Agency reported.
According to the agency, the district mayor’s office, by decision of September 28, 2018 (then-mayor- Nigmat Mukhammedov), put up for auction 2 hectares of land on the territory of the Tepa archaeological site in the Istikbol mahalla in violation of the legislation. The land area was received by U. Q. B.", which set up a raw bricks plant.
According to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated October 4, 2019, the archaeological site is included in the list of objects of intangible cultural heritage and was transferred to the Tashkent Provinceal Department of Culture on the basis of operational management.
After receiving the land, the executives of U. Q. B. in 2020 illegally sold land to U. M.P., which was also engaged in the production of raw bricks here. While, the first company undertook to supply raw materials to the new owner of the land and dug up the soil in large volumes on the territory of Kultepa.
The Tashkent Province Department of Material Heritage appealed to law enforcement agencies and authorities to cancel the decision of the district mayor and the sale agreement, take action against officials and recover damages from those responsible.
Warning letters were also sent to business leaders, but the companies continued their activities.
Specialists from the National Archaeological Center at the Academy of Sciences and officials from provincial state and public organizations were involved in the study of the situation. In November 2021, scientific research was carried out in the area (excavations and inspection of the area). According to experts, the archaeological site dates back to the 1st-4th centuries AD and is considered a cemetery of nomads.
According to the Anti-Corruption Agency, as a result of brick production, the archaeological site suffered damage estimated at 1.5 trillion soums ($138.5 million).
The agency submitted the documents to the Prosecutor General's Office. In December 2021, the prosecutor’s office of the Tashkent province opened a criminal case against officials of U. M.P. and others under part 2 of article 132 (destruction or damage to objects of tangible cultural heritage taken under the protection of the state that caused major damage), paragraph "a" of part 2 of article 205 (abuse of power or official authority with causing major damage) and part 1 article 207 (malpractice) of the Criminal Code.
