President: "Heads of the district executive authority issued illegal permits, and the principles of urban planning suffered a huge blow"

Heads of the district executive authority issued illegal permits and, as a result, the principles of urban planning suffered a huge blow, President Ilham Aliyev said while receiving newly appointed heads of executive power, Report informs, citing AZERTAC.

"Azerbaijan is not a very big country in terms of territory. For us, every inch of land is precious, valuable, and people should be able to use this land. Farmers and villagers should be able to use it to grow crops. We must protect the ecological system of our country, and this is one of my recommendations to you," President Aliyev said.

The head of state noted that all the work being done and to be done should not undermine the environmental situation.

"In particular, Goygol, Lerik and Masalli are districts with beautiful nature. Therefore, ecological balance and ecological norms should be protected. Be sure to keep this in mind. I am sure that if modern governance rules are applied to every district and indeed everywhere else, many problems will be eliminated. This is the policy of the state. I have always defined the policy of the Azerbaijani state unambiguously and presented it to the public. Many of my speeches actually represent our reports to the public. At the same time, I think that the words I say should serve as a basis for all public officials, including entrepreneurs," President Aliyev said.

Entrepreneurship is developing.

"I support that, and many steps are being taken in this direction. However, all rules must be complied with, especially in construction, agriculture and tourism. It is necessary to see to what extent a facility being established meets the architectural style of this or that region, to what extent it meets modern standards, whether or not its construction coefficient is in line with the standards. Unfortunately, many high-rise buildings that were once built in Baku do not comply with any urban planning norms. Why? Because illegal things were committed. Heads of the district executive authority issued illegal permits and, as a result, the principles of urban planning suffered a huge blow. Therefore, it is very difficult to fix them now. At this stage, however, we cannot allow urban planning norms to be violated. For example, all urban planning and environmental standards are being fully complied with in the territories freed from occupation – in fact, the standards of the most developed countries of the world. You should pay serious attention to these issues and exercise control over them in your activities," the head of state said.