The number of quarries operating in the country has dropped to 300 over the past three years.
The statement came from Hikmet Alizadeh, head of the State Environmental Security Service, on the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.
"Three years ago, there were more than 800 stone, gravel and sand quarries in the country, but during this period, 500 of them have either been suspended or abandoned in accordance with our requirements. The number of operating quarries has been reduced to 300.
In general, the damage caused to the closed quarries in recent years amounted to 30 million manat. Of this amount, 15.6 million manat was paid to the State Fund for Environmental Protection. If the owner of the quarry did not pay the amount, they were appealed to law enforcement agencies. The case against some of them was considered by the prosecutor's office and a decision was made to pay them in the near future.
Touching upon the closure of a number of quarries, the head of the Service said that this may be possible in the near future:
"Some construction materials are already made of rubber. This will lead to the closure of some quarries in the near future. Today, it is inevitable that the operating quarries have a certain negative impact on nature. For this reason, they are subject to individual payments. Believe me, the closure of the quarries today could lead to a sharp rise in prices in the construction market. That is why we are trying to find a red center as the body responsible for environmental protection. ”
