Court proceedings have begun in the resort village of Burabay to confiscate land plots from private owners. According to lawyers, around 1,800 owners could be affected, of whom about 50 are business owners, and the rest are residents of the villages of Burabay and Svetly.
According to ORDA, one of the defendants, businessman Igor Streltsov, reported that in 2023 he purchased a plot for 26 million tenge and invested around 400 million tenge in building a recreation area.
According to him, all 24 cottages for 70 guests were put into operation and officially registered. However, the Department for Land Resource Management of the Akmola Region filed a lawsuit to cancel the transactions on his land.
"And this story is not just mine, it's the same for many business owners! They say this is the territory of the 'Burabay' State National Nature Park. But if it is the territory of the SNNP, then how was I legally allowed to purchase this plot? That shouldn't happen! We are developing domestic tourism, investing our own personal funds. We haven't even asked for any state support. This feels like a corporate raid," the businessman stated.
The basis for the lawsuits was a protest from the prosecutor's office of the Akmola Region. The supervisory body stated that in 2022, the akimat and maslikhat of the Burabay District illegally changed the boundaries of the village of Burabay. In 2024, these decisions were overturned, and the lands were recognised as part of the specially protected territory of the SNNP, which are not subject to alienation.
The department's statement of claim indicates that 123 plots were illegally included within the village boundaries. Lawyer Sapargali Kusainov from the Chamber of Legal Consultants of the Akmola Region believes this creates a legal conflict.
"The lands were allocated much earlier than the documents the Department for Land Resource Management and the prosecutor's office are now referring to. What relevance do these documents from 2022 and 2024 have to the time when the land plots were allocated in 1997, 2001, and 2006? ... So, land plots were issued, people built, they live there, and now it turns out everything was illegal?" he noted.
According to lawyers' estimates, if the court cancels the transactions and forces people to leave their plots, the owners could demand compensation from the budget amounting to billions of tenge.
Some residents have stated they are ready to relocate, provided they receive adequate payments. However, many are categorically opposed, as their homes have been there for decades and are passed down through inheritance.
"My grandmother lived in this house her entire life. Then my mother lived here, I was born here. My great-grandfather's house is nearby. All my relatives lived here. In principle, if I were paid good compensation, I would agree," said Vadim Vlasov, a resident of the village of Burabay.
For many families, renting out their homes to tourists remains their only source of income, as there is no other work in the villages.
Meanwhile, a meeting was held at the district akimat with business owners and village residents, but no agreement was reached. In response, people have submitted a request to hold a rally.