Case on dug lake in Odesa region sent to court

Investigators have sent to court a case against a resident of the Berezovsky district of Odesa region for illegal appropriation of a layer of water fund land.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast.

According to the investigators, the head of the Mykolaiv united community reported to the police that someone had illegally seized a plot of land on the bank of the Chychyklia River, where they had dug a reservoir, in one of the villages of the community.

While establishing the circumstances of the incident, officers of the territorial police unit found out that a 35-year-old local resident was involved. Without any permits, he dug a lake on the water fund lands owned by the community to breed fish for his own needs.

To do this, the man borrowed an excavator from a friend, assuring him that he had legal grounds for dredging. By his unlawful actions, the defendant seized the surface layer of the water fund in the amount of 8,652 cubic meters, creating an artificial water body with a total area of 0.3 hectares.

The man was charged with illegal appropriation of the surface (soil) layer of water fund lands on a particularly large scale. This offense is classified under Part 1 of Article 239-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The maximum penalty for this offense is up to three years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.

This is not the first time an artificial lake has been created without permits in Odesa Oblast. In February, in Bolhrad district, police brought to court the case of a farmer who had illegally created an artificial reservoir to irrigate his field. In September last year, a 37-year-old resident of the Budzhatska community used special equipment to dig a pond near the Chiligider River and fill it with its waters.

Кирило Бойко