The environmental prosecutor's office of Almaty region has identified 44 land plots of the state forest fund that were being used for purposes other than their intended use.
According to the press service of the department, forest users were using plots provided for the development of ecotourism and health-related activities for personal purposes without complying with fire safety and sanitary regulations.
Furthermore, they failed to carry out measures aimed at the rational use of forest resources and environmental protection.
At the same time, prosecutors uncovered 43 instances of unjustified allocation of forest fund land for haymaking and livestock grazing to individuals who do not own farm animals.
Overall, as a result of the inspection, 60 contracts for the use of the forest fund covering an area of more than 20,000 hectares were terminated.
Recall that earlier in the Abai region, more than 4,959 hectares of unused agricultural land were returned to state ownership. Of these, 4,694 hectares were pastureland and around 264 hectares were other unused land.