Khokim of Tashkent Jakhongir Artikkhodjayev wrote a letter to The Guardian editorial office in which he expressed his disappointment with the article “Evicted without warning: sudden Tashkent demolitions spark anger”. The Guardian posted the letter of the khokim on its website.
According to the British press, at least 10,000 people were evicted from their homes in Tashkent as a result of the demolition. In addition, homes of 30,000 people are under threat of demolition.
“In Tashkent, which has 2.4 million inhabitants, the vast majority of the demolitions take place in the center, where property prices are highest, leading to accusations that corrupt officials are turning people out of their homes to get rich on shady property deals. Officials often justify the demolitions by saying the land is required for “government needs”, the material published on April 2 says.
“I read your article with surprise and disappointment,” Artikkhodjayev wrote in his letter.
According to him, an author of the article states that tenants are not warned about eviction – that is wrong. They all received notifications, the khokim assures. In addition, the author of the article did not contact the administration of the capital, which did not allow verifying the accuracy of the figures given.
“Any demolition of real estate in Tashkent is not without a reason. It happens when apartment buildings are in a severe, dilapidated condition.
In most cases, the infrastructure in these areas requires a complete renovation of the water supply and sewage system,” Artikkhodjayev said.
He notes that according to the legislation of Uzbekistan, demolition of buildings cannot be carried out without complete notification of residents and compensation.
“We are trying to improve the lives of residents of our city, the quality and safety of the housing stock. All tenants were offered improved living conditions, and no law was violated,” the khokim noted.
At the end, he invited The Guardian to visit Tashkent again and meet with administration officials to learn more about the city.
