The Interdistrict Court of Bishkek has taken the claim of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society on the abolition of amendments to the Water Code for consideration, allowing in exceptional cases to develop deposits in the area of glaciers. The hearing is scheduled for December 20. The head of the human rights organization Azamat Adilov told 24.kg news agency.
The Parliament supported the amendments to the Water Code on November 16. Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev signed the document on November 23.
It is reported that the purpose of the amendments is the legal settlement of the impact of mining enterprises on glaciers. In addition, the law is aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring uninterrupted production at the largest strategic importance site — Kumtor mine — and is applied exclusively to two glaciers (Davydov and Lysyi) from 6,771 existing in the country.
In 2016, the share of the Kumtor project in the country’s GDP was 8 percent, in the total volume of industrial production — more than 23 percent. Annual direct and indirect revenues to the republican and local budgets amount to 7-8 billion soms.
