With Dhaka's air pollution reaching an intolerable level, the government recently began a crackdown against brick kilns to control smog and overall air quality.
Amid the air pollution, the High Court on November 26 ordered authorities concerned to shut down illegal brick kilns around Dhaka within 15 days.
Following the directive, the Department of Environment (DoE) launched a crackdown on November 28 and so far has closed down 33 brick kilns, fining owners Tk1.5 crore for causing severe environmental pollution in and around Dhaka.
The mobile court also lodged cases against all of them. Of the 33, 32 brick kiln owners were fined Tk15 million while a regular case was filed against one brick kiln owner, according to data from the environment department.
Five brick kilns were closed down in Dhamrai and five in Amin Bazar of Dhaka while eight in Gazipur Sadar, four in Saturia of Manikganj and 11 in Narayanganj.
Action was taken against those who constructed brick kilns illegally on prohibited land and did not have an environmental clearance certificate from the DoE according to the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013, amended in 2019.
Dr Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director (monitoring and enforcement) of the environment department said the special drive was launched on the High Court directive.
“The dry season has just arrived and it is the worst for air pollution. We will continue our drive against illegal brick kilns until we can free ourselves from pollution,” he said.
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Currently, there are over 7,000 brick kilns in Bangladesh, with 70% of them having shifted over to modern technology so far.
According to the environment department, brick kilns located around Dhaka city are responsible for 58% of its air pollution.
95% brick kilns illegal
Asadur Rahman Khan, vice president of the Bangladesh Brick Field Owners Association said the strict law has made 95% of the existing brick kilns illegal.
“We were not made party to the writ on which the High Court ordered action to be taken regarding illegal brick kilns. We got no time to take steps from our side or defend ourselves before the court,” he claimed.
The owner also claimed that fines imposed on brick kiln owners are huge which will destroy many businesses as many of them are operating under loans.
Abu Bakar, general secretary of the same association said they have upgraded almost all brick kilns with modern technology including “zigzag” technology by investing a large sum following directives from the environment department.
“But the environment department stopped renewing environmental clearance certificate since 2016 in spite of upgrading brick kilns with modern technologies,” he alleged.
According to the law, if the emission level does not exceed the level permitted by the standard fixed by the government, the DoE can publish a notification allowing brick kilns to operate in prohibited areas which were set up before the formulation of the law, said Bakar.
“We have requested the DoE to calculate emissions level first and then demolish or impose fines if brick kilns fail to maintain the standard,” he said, adding that there is not a single place in the country which can get permission to set up a brick kiln due to the strict conditions in the law. We are consulting with our lawyer to be a party in the writ,” he added.
Concrete blocks for govt construction | |
Year | Percentage |
2020-2021 | 20% |
2021-2022 | 30% |
2022-2023 | 60% |
2023-2024 | 80% |
2025 | 100% |
Where can brick kilns be set up?
Section 8 of the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) Act prohibits brick kilns within a kilometre from residential, reserve and commercial areas, city corporations, and municipalities or Sadar upazila, forest, sanctuary, wet and agricultural land, and degraded air sheds.
This section added a condition for those kilns that were set up before the formulation of the act. In such cases, government can published a notification exempting those prohibitions of law if the brickfield can control their pollution within the permitted level.
A 2016 report by Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Bangladesh produces 22.71 billion bricks a year.
The sector consumes 3.5 million tons of coal and 1.9 million tons of firewood, emitting 9.8 million tons of greenhouse gas annually, according to a World Bank report.
The Bangladesh government, as part of phasing out the use of bricks, has decided to use concrete blocks in 10% of its construction projects starting this fiscal to reduce air pollution.
As per the plan, concrete blocks will be used in 20% of the government’s construction projects from 2020-2021, 30% from 2021-2022, 60% from 2022-2023, 80% from 2023-2024, and 100% by 2025.