Another scandal on the construction of dams on the Koksu River
This week in Taldykorgan, at the office of the regional branch of the Atameken NPP, a regular meeting of the warring parties took place around the construction of two small hydroelectric power stations on the Koksu River: Rudnichnaya HPP-1 and Rudnichnaya HPP-2.
Currently, it should be noted that the number of dissatisfied with the construction of hydroelectric power plants is increasing every day. This was told by the president of the Rafting Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Konstantin O. Also, according to him, he is ready to go out on pickets and gather an army of supporters.
— I am ready to go out on single pickets regularly, but you can’t touch the Koksa River. It is good that representatives of government agencies have gathered today, who are obliged to monitor the facility. We are not kids who have nothing to do and who like to kayak. We promote an active lifestyle, develop tourism. In Zhetysu, tourism is the most effective industry for replenishing the budget. I am ready to gather dozens of people, including farmers, — said Konstantin O.
Civil activist Olzhas Ibraimov reminded the officials present about the principles of the “Hearing State”.
— Unfortunately, our government agencies do not hear citizens. The Koksu River is important for the development of water sports. Everyone protects entrepreneurs, but it is necessary to protect the interests of the people. There is an ecoportal, data on all public hearings are stored there, but there are no documents on these HPPs,” Olzhas Ibraimov emphasized.
Saltanat Uteshbayeva, a member of the regional tourism association, also emphasized procedural violations during public hearings.
— If the hydroelectric power station causes damage to the fish population, then there should be compensatory measures that are regulated by legislation on environmental protection and aquatic biological resources. Violators are obliged to engage in the stocking of rivers and reservoirs that will be affected by the activities of hydroelectric power stations. If they ignore such obligations, then such state bodies as the Fisheries Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture may suspend the activities of the facility,” Saltanat Uteshbaeva believes.
A representative of the akimat of the city of Tekeli unexpectedly announced to all those present that public hearings were allegedly held in the village of Rudnichny on December 18, 2024. They say that the event was recorded, and they handed over the documents to the relevant departments. In response to her remark, some eco-activists called these actions falsification and threatened legal proceedings.
Our author was at this event, and then it was called the presentation of the project.
In turn, the representative of the regional Entrepreneurship Department suggested that Ali Karabalin, the project manager for the construction of the HPP, hire scientific experts and conduct additional research to identify potential risks from the impact of the new facility on the environment. Some social activists are inclined to this idea.
— Today, the main person who should respond to all the scandals around the HPP is the akim of the region, Beibit Isabayev. He is a political civil servant, and the situation around this topic has already acquired a socio-political character and risks turning into protests. Now we are preparing letters to him and to the regional maslikhat with a request to allocate funds for scientific expertise in order to clarify the potential risks of environmental impact. It is also important to find out what the economic effect of these small hydropower plants is against the background of the construction of nuclear power plants in the country. For the sake of obtaining some 40 MW of energy, we cannot ruin the nature and beauty of Zhetysu,” sums up the deputy head of the NGO “Green Solidarity” Aidar Khadzhimuratov.
Aliya Akhmedieva (Ratel.kz )
