To make a gap: the Ministry of Natural Resources of Dagestan was searched after the floods

On Thursday, April 23, it became known that the Ministry of Natural Resources of Dagestan and the Dagmeliovodkhoz department were searched due to the illegal construction of residential buildings within the boundaries of the water protection zone and the riverbed. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Searches at the Ministry of Natural Resources of Dagestan: what is known are the reasons

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced that investigative actions were being carried out in the premises of the Dagmeliovodkhoz Department and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Republic of Dagestan.

According to investigators, from 2009 to March 2026, officials of the Makhachkala administration and other authorized bodies registered the ownership rights of individuals to land plots located within the boundaries of the water protection zone and the riverbed. However, the construction of capital construction facilities is not allowed there.

The Investigative Committee also added that officials issued permits for the construction of apartment buildings, which were then declared invalid. Despite the fact that court decisions were made to recognize the facilities as unauthorized buildings and subject to demolition, construction did not stop. Measures for dismantling were also not taken.

"It was also established that the riverbed was filled in on these land plots, which prevented measures to clean up and ensure the free flow of the water body," the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation said in a Telegram channel.

Insufficient control by the authorized bodies led to the threat of flooding of the adjacent territories.

The criminal case

It is clarified that the investigative authorities of the regional Investigative Committee continue to investigate the criminal case initiated under paragraph "e" of Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code ("abuse of official authority, resulting in a significant violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and the legally protected interests of society and the state"), as well as part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code ("negligence").

Now all the circumstances of the incident are being established, as well as the persons involved in the commission of crimes. During the investigative actions, items and documents relevant to the investigation were seized.

Destruction in Dagestan

Heavy rains in Dagestan, which began in late March and caused massive floods, also caused landslides. As a result of all this, more than 200 houses, roads, bridges and other infrastructure facilities were damaged.

The searches can be linked, among other things, to the collapse of a three-story apartment building in Makhachkala in early April. The building was located next to apartment buildings that are located near the riverbed and are considered to be at risk. As a result of the incident, a criminal case was opened under the article on negligence. The main cause of the accident was identified as non—compliance with urban planning standards during construction, including ignoring the requirements for water protection zones.

Lawsuits about illegal construction in Makhachkala

On April 18, the first deputy head of Makhachkala, Nariman Batyrbiyev, made a report at a meeting led by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Dagestan, Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov, in which he spoke about the work on checking sites, both legal and illegal.

"They will all be given a legal assessment. Taking into account the buildings erected in the water protection zone and in the coastal strip, without obtaining permits, as well as on land plots that do not belong to ownership, the Makhachkala city administration has been conducting judicial claim work since September 2025," he said.

He also noted that 30 lawsuits had been filed to reclaim 31 land plots from illegal possession and demolish unauthorized buildings erected along the Cherkess-Ozen riverbed, along the Tarnairka River — the reclamation of 24 land plots and the demolition of capital construction facilities on them.

He also added that the courts had satisfied the requirements of the 23 claims of the authorities. Seven more cases are pending. Abdulmuslimov also noted that the built-up areas in the water protection zone of water bodies do not allow for the necessary river clearance in the urban area of Makhachkala.