Khistevarz Jamoat

Geographic location

Khistevarz Town Jamoat is one of the largest jamoats not only in Sughd Region but in the entire republic. The jamoat is bordered to the north by the Syr Darya River, to the south by the mountain ranges of Kyrgyzstan, to the east by Kanibadam District, and to the west by the Khojabakirgan River. The jamoat lies on the left bank of the Tajik Sea (the Kayrakkum HPP reservoir).

To the south it borders Leylak District of Batken Region of the Kyrgyz Republic, to the east — Kanibadam District, to the west — Ovchikalacha Jamoat, and to the north — Isfisor and Zarzamin jamoats. The territory of the jamoat is 1,060.7 square kilometres. The distance from the jamoat to the district centre is 9 km, to the regional centre (Khujand) — 25 km, to the international airport — 11 km and to the railway — 9 km.

Motor roads of international significance pass through the territory of the jamoat. They link the jamoat from the south with Leylak District of Batken Region of the Kyrgyz Republic (the Khujand — Kanibadam highway).

Administrative structure

The territory of the jamoat is made up of 3 villages (Khistevarz, Sotsializm and Mirzobakhodur) with a total of 22 mahallas.

Historical and cultural overview

In the course of their research, archaeologists have discovered material monuments in Khistevarz that date back to pre-Islamic centuries and, according to other finds, to the 5th–6th centuries CE. The historical source — the anonymous work «Hudud al-Alam» (10th century) — states that Khistevarz was one of the villages located not far from Khujand on the Great Silk Road. Archaeological evidence indicates that as early as the first centuries CE a large village existed in the vicinity of Khistevarz.

Indeed, there are many legends and stories about the origin of the name of this village and its mahallas, and the name «Kistakuz» was given to the village only in recent centuries. Its original ancient name, as recorded in numerous sources, is Khistevarz.

In 1924, in accordance with the national-territorial delimitation of Central Asia, the village of Khistevarz was included in the Khujand District of Samarkand Region of the Uzbek SSR. According to the new administrative division of 1926, the Khistevarz volost was abolished and converted into a village council. Until 1929 — that is, until the Khujand District was incorporated into Tajikistan — the village of Khistevarz also remained part of Uzbekistan. In 1929 the Kistakuz village council was established.

Later, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR of 14 May 1941, Kistakuz District was created in Leninabad Region, with its centre in the village of Kistakuz. Under the second part of this Decree, the village of Kistakuz was renamed Chkalov and the Kistakuz District also took the name Chkalov (from 1941 to 1957). On 19 September 1950, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR, Chkalov District was abolished and its territory included in Leninabad District. On 18 April 1957, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR, considering the petition of the Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies of Leninabad Region, by its decree restored the Chkalov village council to its former name — the Kistakuz village council. By Resolution No. 305 of the National Assembly of the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Tajikistan dated 29 March 2012, Kistakuz was renamed Khistevarz.

Natural and climatic conditions and resources

The climate of the jamoat is dry subtropical, with annual precipitation exceeding 300 mm. The average summer temperature ranges from +35 °C to +40 °C, while in winter it falls to −15…−20 °C. Favourable natural and climatic conditions allow agricultural work to be conducted in the open air all year round.

The territory of the jamoat is dominated by dark grey soils, gravelly soils and yellow earths, rich in lime, gypsum and salt. On slopes and along riverbanks, stony soils and sands are also encountered.

The Kayrakkum reservoir is partly located within the territory of Khistevarz Town Jamoat. The reservoir was formed as a result of the construction of the hydroelectric power station; it is more than 75 km long and covers an area of over 4 million square metres. The total volume of the reservoir is 4,160 million m³, and its useful volume is 2,600 million m³.

Demographic situation

As of 1 January 2015, the population of Khistevarz Town Jamoat is 56,497 people, or 16.1 % of the total population of the district, including 28,047 men (49.6 %) and 28,450 women (50.4 %). The average annual population growth rate is 2.4 %. Population density is 132 people per km².

Table 1. Resident population of Khistevarz Town Jamoat (at the beginning of the year)

Economy and infrastructure

Khistevarz Town Jamoat is one of the agrarian areas of the district. Agriculture is one of the main sectors of the economy and plays a leading role in the economic life of the jamoat. The bulk of the working-age population is engaged in agriculture; the main agricultural branches of the jamoat are crop farming, livestock breeding and horticulture.

The total land area, together with land located in Mastchoh District, amounts to 19,124 hectares, of which 4,456.3 ha are arable. The lands are irrigated mainly through the Fergana and Greater Fergana canals, the «Okhak» irrigation system and vertical wells, and are distributed among 63 dehkan farms and production cooperatives. The total number of households in the jamoat is 9,400, of which 4,800 are shareholders.

In previous years industry in Khistevarz Town Jamoat was considered one of the developed sectors, since the jamoat is one of the largest in the district in terms of territory, population density and human resources. Accordingly, 11 industrial enterprises operated on the territory of the jamoat (including 5 building-materials plants, 1 light-industry enterprise, 4 food-industry enterprises and 1 flour mill). Today, however, the rural industrial workshops have almost entirely ceased operation. The main goal of the jamoat in the next five-year period is to ensure the gradual revival of this sector.

Although small and medium-sized entrepreneurship, especially manufacturing, is reasonably well developed in Khistevarz Town Jamoat, there are still factors negatively affecting its growth — namely, limited electricity supply, the absence of necessary incentives, the closure of the Uzbekistan border, deficiencies in the infrastructure of the cross-border market with the Kyrgyz Republic, untimely supply of raw materials and others. Once these factors are eliminated, entrepreneurship will develop and contribute to reducing poverty and unemployment.

The territory of the jamoat is also home to 5 transport enterprises, 4 consumer-service enterprises, 30 public-catering outlets, 86 trade points, 10 secondary schools, 2 state preschool institutions (4 private preschool institutions), 2 libraries, 1 hospital, 2 medical points, 6 health centres, 7 sports institutions, 1 sports hall, 6 basketball courts, 5 volleyball courts, 1 special boarding school for hard-of-hearing and deaf children and 1 sports school. Also at the centre of the jamoat there are markets selling industrial and food goods, agricultural produce and building materials, as well as several shopping centres. There are no modern multi-storey buildings on the territory of the jamoat.

To support the economic and social sphere, the following banks and credit organisations operate within the jamoat: Eskhata, Tojiksodirotbank, Agroinvestbank, Amonatbank, Arvand and Jovid; international organisations include the Red Cross, Jovid, USAID, the United Nations Development Programme, the Community Support Centre and others.

Table 2. Information on the mahallas of Khistevarz Town Jamoat

Vision (development outlook) of Khistevarz Town Jamoat

SWOT analysis of Khistevarz Town Jamoat (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats).

Strengths

• Availability of labour resources
• Favourable geographic location
• Alignment of goals and efforts of executive authorities, entrepreneurs and the population for the development of the jamoat
• Advanced experience and favourable climate for agricultural development
• Favourable environment for tourism development (the Tajik Sea)
• Sufficient number of highly qualified specialists
• Wide opportunities for entrepreneurial activity
• Potential for full use of the capacity of industrial enterprises
• Positive attitude towards construction and improvement
• Broad opportunities to preserve and use national and cultural traditions while adopting modern life
• Existing engineering infrastructure

Weaknesses

• Insufficient number of jobs
• Underuse of the production capacities of industry
• Worn-out and obsolete machinery, equipment and technology at industrial enterprises and agricultural farms
• Infrastructure in need of repair
• Insufficient funds and difficulty in obtaining them to support the development of national-economy sectors
• Poor land-reclamation condition of irrigated lands
• Unsatisfactory state of motor roads
• Low level of wages
• High level of groundwater
• Low level of budget funds
• Shortage of drinking-water networks — at present only 46 % of the population is supplied with drinking water

Opportunities

• Existence of the Khistevarz Development Programme adopted at the national level
• Existence of the Bobojon Ghafurov District Development Programme
• Reforms in agriculture
• Availability of national sectoral programmes and strategies for socio-economic and infrastructure development
• Improved legislation on local self-government bodies
• Interest of donor organisations
• Existence of a trust fund at the district level
• Implementation of the Rural Development Programme

Threats

• Natural emergencies
• Impact of the global financial crisis
• Emigration of highly qualified specialists and labour abroad
• Spread of agricultural pests
• The rising threat of groundwater, which is increasing day by day
• Epidemics and pandemics
• Deterioration of the political situation in neighbouring countries
• Global economic crisis
• Negative fluctuations in cotton prices on world markets