A representative of the Special Advisory Commission of the Almaty Union of Architects, Murat Kasenov, has published a post regarding the situation with the Almaty General Plan until 2040. According to him, the issue is not simply one of technical shortcomings, but of a possible substitution of the strategic document and disregard for legally established procedures.
On his Facebook page, he writes that on 18 May, the commission under the Union of Architects sent an official request to the apparatus of the Almaty Maslikhat, demanding the provision of the preliminary review's conclusion, the consolidated expert conclusion, the recommendations of the Public Council, and approvals from state bodies.
By law, these documents are mandatory for the review and approval of such projects. The request was registered on 19 May, and a response was received on 2 June.
However, as Kasenov notes, instead of the full package of documents, the commission received only a covering letter and the akimat's approval sheet. Attached to the materials was an "updated" version of the draft government resolution on the General Plan until 2040, dated 29 May 2025, along with several disjointed conclusions concerning only the "Adjustment to the General Plan of the City of Almaty" project. The procedurally mandatory consolidated expert conclusion was entirely absent.
According to the lawyer, the provided reworked version of the resolution had not undergone any legal procedure.
"Thus, this is not about a technical error, but about a deliberate failure to comply with the law, which entails the loss of legitimacy of the relevant act. If yesterday it concerned the General Plan, today it concerns detailed planning projects, then tomorrow such risks could affect any document related to land, construction, ecology, and property rights," the statement reads.
Kasenov notes that on 26 June, the commission sent a repeat request, however, on 14 July, the same package of documents was received in response, without any additions. After this, on 3 August, a third request was sent, but on 18 August, only a formal reply came again. The commission still has not received the key materials.
According to the commission representative, official archives record a different picture.
"On 15 April 2023, the akimat sent the draft government resolution to the maslikhat. On 21 April, the maslikhat unlawfully 'approved' the draft government resolution for the Almaty General Plan until 2040 – a document that is still posted on the official website. But this project did not undergo review in the manner prescribed by law," Murat Kasenov reported.
He noted that formally, Government Resolution No. 349 of 3 May 2023 exists. But it is neither in the Reference Bank of Legal Acts nor on the Prime Minister's website. Moreover, the "new" version of the resolution, presented by the maslikhat apparatus in June of this year, differs from previous editions: it contains distortions, new clauses that were not in the original, as well as amendments that no one officially approved.
In Kasenov's opinion, the facts indicate that the only consolidated expert conclusion is dated 28 April 2023 and pertains solely to the adjustment of the General Plan.
"The version of the government resolution of 29 May 2025 never underwent the legal cycle of development, coordination, and approval. Consequently, it has neither legal force nor public legitimacy. We declare: this is either egregious bureaucratic negligence or deliberate substitution – official forgery. Those who take it upon themselves to rewrite strategic documents must be held accountable by law," he writes.