No tech upgrade, Punjab brick kilns operate illegally

Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 5

Advertisement

Brick prices in Punjab have gone up by 20 per cent over the past three months. 

With 2,700 brick kilns across the state remaining closed for three months following an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), prices have gone up from Rs 4,600 per 1,000 bricks to around Rs 5,500.

Keeping in view soaring prices and depleting stocks, most of the brick kilns in the state have gone operational since yesterday, many of them illegally. Commercial operations have been restarted without any technology upgrade — allegedly under political patronage.

Sources said since the shortage of bricks could snowball into a major controversy ahead of the General Election, kilns had been allowed to operate.

The NGT had banned brick kiln operations unless and until the owners shifted from the present carbon and pet coke emitting manufacturing technology to the “high draft zigzag technology”.

Last year, the Punjab Pollution Control Board had ordered that brick kilns would remain closed from October 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019, to allow time for the upgrade. The NGT, however, ruled that kilns would have to upgrade by January 31, and those missing the deadline would not be allowed to operate.

Sources said while 1,000 kilns had adopted the technology, around 500 were in the process of doing so. “Yesterday, we received messages from the brick kiln association that we could begin operations even if we haven’t upgraded. From what we hear, some ‘understanding’ has been arrived at with political authorities. Thus, we have started operations,” said a kiln owner in Ludhiana, who is yet to upgrade.

Member Secretary, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Pawan Garg said a survey would be started soon to see how many kilns had upgraded. “In case we find any violations, the kilns concerned will be issued closure notices,” he said.

Meanwhile, with legal mining underway at just 23 quarries, the rate of sand continues to hover around Rs 2,000-2,200 per 100 cubic feet, and that of aggregate around Rs 2,600 per 100 cubic feet.