Brick-makers not following new regulations

Nearly 90 percent of the brick-makers have not updated their production process in keeping with new environmental regulations on the fuel, location and use of brick kilns, six months after the deadline set by the government.

The Environment Ministry says a total of 6,637 traditional and modern brickfields are currently operating in Bangladesh.  Only 735 of these fields follow the new regulations, says a report by the Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS).

About 63 percent of brickfields have met the ‘modern kiln’ regulation, says the environment ministry. The remaining traditional kilns will gradually be phased out, say brick business owners.

Many of the brickfield owners have also begun questioning the regulations. Though older kilns are being converted, business owners say they are not given permission because they cannot observe every regulation.

Brickfield owners warned that if the regulations are observed strictly, one million workers may go out of work.

The brick-makers were given until Jun 30 to replace the traditional kilns with modern ones, BCAS Executive Director A Atik Rahman told bdnews24.com.

“Our research says 88.65 percent of brickfields have not obeyed the law,” he said.

It is illegal for children to work but here a child labourer is making a living at a brick kiln. Photo: asif mahmud ove

According to the BCAS, 1,745 of the brickfields in Bangladesh begin operations before obtaining a license. Though the government has regulated the use of modern kilns to combat pollution, brick-makers have been reluctant to phase out the older kilns because of profit concerns.

Every year 17.12 billion bricks are manufactured in Bangladesh, according to BCAS. The amount of earth required for it stands to 58.38 billion tons.

Wood or coal is used to fuel the traditional brick kilns. The height of the permanent chimneys is, at most, 120 feet. Bricks are made during six months in a year (November to April).

The smoke released from these chimneys damages the ozone layer and pollutes the surrounding area.

After demands from environmental activists, the government instituted the Brick Making and Brickfield Establishment (Control) Act 2013, banning permanent chimney brickfields.

The New Regulations

>>No individual can cut earth from ponds, canals, marshes, creeks, lakes, rivers, wetlands, sandbars or other areas without permission from appropriate authorities.

>>Wood cannot be used to fuel brick kilns

>>Coal containing excess amounts of sulphur, ash, mercury or other such materials cannot be used for brick burning fuel

>>Bricks and brick making materials cannot be transported to and from the brickfield by road without the permission of a local government engineering department, Upazila authorities, or union authorities or village authorities

>>Traditional brick kilns have to be replaced with tunnel kilns, improved zigzag kilns, or hybrid Hoffman kilns

At a ‘Green Brick Convention’ arranged by businesses, Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhit encouraged brick-makers to take advantage of their duty-free facility and convert older brick kilns to modern ones.

The owners, on the other hand, complained that simply replacing the traditional kilns was not enough to satisfy regulators.

The regulation concerning the position of kilns would deny them permissions, even if they converted them, they said.

Many are refusing to abandon traditional kilns because of the low availability of raw materials.

Messrs Atik Bricks Partner Abul Kalam Azad told bdnews24.com that brickfields in Khulna, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and many other areas have yet to move away from traditional kilns. Permanent chimneys are especially being used in areas where wood is widely available, he said.

But Azad, who is also the Senior Secretary of the Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association, says he doubts the numbers reported by BCAS.

“I believe the report has relied on faulty sources to come up with the 88 percent figure. Most brickfields in the Comilla, Chandpur and Narayanganj areas have already converted,” he said.

The association’s Vice President Asadur Rahman Khan also expressed his dismay at the strictness of the new regulations.

He said it is impossible to follow the regulations on transportation and location and run a successful brick business.

“Why 88 percent? I would have thought 99 percent of brick fields would become illegal,” he said.

Brickfield location regulations

>>Brickfields cannot be built within 2 km of educational institutions, residential, business or protected areas, city corporations, municipality or Upazila headquarters, public or private forests, environmental sanctuaries, gardens or wetlands, agricultural land, ecological crisis areas, or areas with high air pollution.

>>Permissions, protections and licenses will not be granted to brickfields in violation of area regulations set by the Environment Ministry or any other authorities

Asadur Rahman, the proprietor of the ARB Enterprise brickfield in Dhamrai says legal restrictions have prevented him from taking advantage of available protection.

“We have taken steps to build Zigzag kilns for six years, but because of new regulations from the environment ministry, we have not been granted protection. This has created a production slowdown.”

He also expressed concern about the public loans granted for the construction of modern kilns.

“In order to pay the interest on the Tk 550 million loan, Rangpur Naz Auto Bricks would have to produce 120,000 bricks a day. Do you think more than 100,000 bricks can be sold in an area like Rangpur?”

Black smoke billowing into the sky from a brick kiln at Decreer Char in Narayanganj Sadar. Photo: asif mahmud ove

The owners say demand for bricks is increasing because of increasing construction in Bangladesh.

Nearly Tk 25 billion of bricks has to be imported in a year. If ‘restrictions’ were relaxed, the owners say, Bangladesh could meet the demand itself.

Environment ministry Director General Md Roisul Alam Mondol said that it is because of the existing situation that permits and protections are not being granted.

He did, however, questioned the BCAS report that blamed 90 percent of the brickfields for non-compliance.

“I do not know what sources environmental activists are using for their report, but it is incorrect. According to the environment ministry’s calculations, almost 63 percent of factories have already adopted modern methods,” he said.

Legal action would be taken against those who were yet to comply, he said.

“Recently seven brickfields have been demolished in the Khulna area. Environmental mobile courts are operating in Barisal and Patuakhali.”

Currently 700 other brickfields are continuing operations after challenging the government order at the High Court.

The environment department says there is nothing to about those fields 'for the time being.'