MOSCOW, July 24. The State Duma, at a plenary meeting in the third reading, adopted a law that extends the rule on clear-cutting forests on Lake Baikal until December 31, 2033.
Until December 31, 2033, within the boundaries of the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory, the implementation of activities necessary “for the modernization, expansion and increase in the capacity of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways” is extended, the text of the document says. 
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Previously, this norm was valid until December 31, 2024. At the same time, the construction and reconstruction of infrastructure facilities necessary to increase the capacity of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways on forest lands are permitted with clear felling and the transfer of these lands to lands of other categories.
As Alexander Yakubovsky (United Russia), a member of the Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Public Utilities, explained, the law adopted today allows us to solve a priority state task aimed at developing the domestic economy, increasing export potential and, in fact, the security of the entire transport system of the country.
“Its implementation and its necessity do not raise any complaints. Decisions on the development of infrastructure and on certain activities related to clear cuttings have been and will be made only on the basis of approved project documentation and with the full control of supervisory authorities, including the Baikal Interregional Environmental Protection Agency the prosecutor’s office, if we talk about the real picture, then most often, bushes and small forests that grow next to a railway line that was already built in the past are being cut down,” the deputy noted. 
He added that it is critically important for Russia to ensure the timely development of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway, as has been shown by the past couple of years and the reversal of Russia’s main export flow towards the East.
The law also allows credit institutions to direct funds from the compensation fund to pay the tax levied in connection with the application of the simplified taxation system, calculated from the income received from their placement in credit institutions and (or) from investing funds from the compensation fund compensation fund into other financial assets.
The new norm will reduce the financial burden on self-regulatory organizations and their members, which will become an effective measure of support during the period of overcoming crisis phenomena.