Jharkhand Brick Kilns Want Exemption from Green Norms

The red brick industry, which is accused of polluting the environment, has appealed to policy-makers to weigh the pros and cons before making norms that “are tough to follow”. The brick manufacturers, who are ready to opt for cleaner technology, are skeptical that stringent laws may push the small and medium business owners out of the trade. The manufacturers are also sceptical about their future in the wake of the carbon phase down policy of the Centre. There are around 2,000 plus brick kilns in the state that provide direct and indirect employment to over three lakh people. According to estimates, the industry gives employment for 120-150 days in a year at an average wage of Rs 500 per head. Despite opting for ‘environment-friendly technology’, the brick kilns are still considered as a polluting industry and they are often under the lens of environmental activists. Jharkhand Pradesh Brick Manufacturers Association’s (JPBMA) president of Ranchi district, Abhay Tiwari, said that many brick kilns have upgraded to the fuel efficient zig-zag kilns from the old model of Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench (FCBT),which was considered ‘highly polluting’. “In the 1990s, the brick kilns operators abided by the norms and switched to fixed chimney from the moving one and in 2003, they adopted the draft zig-zag model to improve efficiency and cut down on emissions,” JPBMA president Anant Kumar Singh said. The zig-zag kilns are fitted with boosters to burn the coal efficiently, thereby reducing its consumption to 60% than what was required in the FCBT model. Recently, the National Green Tribunal had passed an order to shut the operation of coal-based zig-zag kilns in Delhi in a phased manner to safeguard the severely polluted regions. Though Jharkhand has not passed any such order, Singh feared that in case it does so, the trade would go into the hands of big corporates. “Some of the manufacturers are switching to PNG and CNG-fueled kilns but that is going to be too expensive for the small traders,” Singh said. Last year in September, the JPBMA had requested the state government to exempt the brick kilns from obtaining the mandatory ‘environment clearance’ certificate for digging soil up to 2m and said that it should not be considered as mining. The association is still awaiting a response from the government. “The neighboring states of West Bengal and Bihar have already exempted brick kilns from obtaining the EC certificate for digging soil up to 1.5m and it was allowed as per the letter issued by the ministry of forest and environment, Government of India on March 28, 2020,” he said,