Following inspections of compliance with environmental and land legislation, 444 individuals have been held accountable

Issues related to the enforcement of environmental and land legislation require constant attention from prosecutors. This year, 88 inspections have been organized in these areas, resulting in 358 response acts and the involvement of 444 individuals in disciplinary, administrative, and material liability. At the request of prosecutors, damages caused by violations of the aforementioned legislation, totaling over 18 thousand rubles, have been compensated.

For instance, a number of violations of waste management legislation have been identified, including those related to the operation of mini-landfills for the disposal of municipal solid waste.

These mini-landfills, maintained by local housing and communal services organizations, are often managed and operated in violation of sanitary and environmental requirements. There are cases of adjacent territories being contaminated with waste, a lack of protective engineering structures and information signs, and the disposal of secondary raw materials (waste paper, glass, etc.). Concurrently, proper control over the condition of mini-landfills by the servicing organizations is not consistently established.

Similar violations have been identified in Beshenkovichi, Braslav, Glubokoe, Verkhnedvinsk, Ushachi, Sharkovshchina, and Shumilino districts, as well as in other regions. Consequently, prosecutors have taken appropriate response measures and raised the issue of holding those responsible accountable.

The organization of waste management in the system of KUP "Vitebskobldorstroy" does not fully comply with legislative requirements.

Shortcomings are observed in the accounting of generated production waste (KUP "Vitebskobldorstroy", branches of this enterprise: Beshenkovichi DRSU No. 110, UPTK, Liozno DRSU No. 107, Polotsk DRSU No. 182).

The transportation of production waste is not always properly documented (branches: Vitebsk DRSU No. 144, Beshenkovichi DRSU No. 110, Miory DRSU No. 203, UPTK).

Violations occur in the organization of collection and temporary storage of production waste (KUP

"Vitebskoblstroy", branches Beshenkovichi DRSU No. 110, Lepel DRSU No. 202, Miory DRSU No. 203, UPTK).

UPTK branches and Polotsk DRSU No. 182 committed unauthorized disposal of production waste, resulting in damage to the environment in the amount of 3129.11 and 355.78 rubles.

Non-isolated violations of land protection and use legislation were identified in the work of rural executive committees when considering applications and making decisions on the expropriation and provision of plots.

There were instances of non-compliance with the requirements of the legislation regarding applications from citizens and decisions of executive committees on these issues, when they did not reflect all the necessary information (Sharkovshchinsky, Ushachsky, Miorsky, Braslavsky districts), violations of deadlines for making decisions on the expropriation of land plots (Sharkovshchinsky, Lepelsky districts), untimely notification and non-notification of citizens and tax authorities about the decisions made (Dubrovensky, Verkhnedvinsky, Gluboksky, Ushachsky, Miorsky districts).

 In many rural executive committees, record-keeping for administrative procedures regarding the expropriation and provision of land plots was carried out improperly - the existing registration logs for such applications did not comply with the established requirements, and the progress of considering applications was not fully reflected in them (Gluboksky, Vitebsky, Orshansky districts, etc.). At the same time, the registration logs for land matters of the Novkinsky and Oktyabrsky rural executive committees of the Vitebsk district, Dokshitsky, Begomlsky, Parafyanovsky, Sittsevsky, Volkolatsky rural executive committees of the Dokshitsky district were maintained by specialists of the land management service of the district executive committees instead of officials of the rural executive committees.

For all identified violations, prosecutors took measures to eliminate them, and guilty persons were brought to disciplinary and administrative responsibility on the initiative of the prosecutors.

An important area of prosecutorial activity is the supervision of the enforcement of legislation on the protection of historical and cultural heritage. In the current year, the region's prosecutor's offices, in order to eliminate

4 representations were made regarding identified violations, 9 orders were issued, 2 individuals were subjected to disciplinary action, and 2 individuals were subjected to material liability in the amount of 250 rubles.

The results of supervisory activities indicate the existence of unresolved issues in this area, including the unsatisfactory technical and sanitary condition of a number of historical and cultural heritage sites.

One of the sources of funds that can be directed towards the restoration of historical and cultural values is the President of the Republic of Belarus Fund for the Support of Culture and Arts.

Current legislation, including Decree of the Head of State No. 527 of 18.10.2007 "On Certain Issues of Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage," provides for the necessity of making annual contributions to this fund by business entities whose activities directly impact historical and cultural values or their protection zones.

However, in addition to the fact that in the Vitebsk region, as throughout the republic, including due to the leniency of executive committees, work on the payment of these contributions was not properly organized for 10 years, as of July 2017, only 45 out of the identified (181) entities that should make contributions had done so.

These circumstances indicate the need to intensify and improve the work of local executive committees in this direction, primarily in the city of Vitebsk, and in the Polotsk and Orsha districts, where the majority of the mentioned entities are located, and for this purpose, prosecutors have submitted relevant representations to the local executive committees.

 

Senior Assistant Prosecutor
of the Region for Supervision of Environmental Legislation Enforcement E. Kozlova