A REPORT in an English daily on Saturday has found out that the new law on brick kilns has failed to speed up the conversion of environmentally hazardous traditional kilns, observe experts and kiln owners. Part of the reason of this failure is the law clearly lacks proper guidelines for setting up eco-friendly manufacturing units with sustainable technology. The law doesn’t mention the permissible limit for hazardous gas emission and the means of measuring it, or specify the authorities to oversee the emission. The law alludes conversion of the traditional Fixed Chimney Kilns (FCKs), which are often set up on arable lands and forest areas without permission from the Department of Environment, into Zigzag, Hybrid Hoffman and Vertical Shaft kilns.
However, meeting the objective within the deadline seems almost impossible at the moment as the law does not define “energy efficient non-polluting technology.” According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) data, the Brick Making and Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013 aims to transform the approximately 8,000 outmoded kilns, into “energy efficient and modern” ones by June 30 this year.
Moreover, in order to meet the deadline set by the law, many owners hurriedly went for conversion of their traditional kilns by adopting the Zigzag technology. But the designs of those kilns were later found to be faulty. The smoke that comes out of chimneys in Zigzag kilns still contains fine dust particles as well as polluting gases such as carbon-dioxide and sulphur dioxide.
Now the brick kiln owners are demanding an extended deadline. We think an extended deadline would be a chance for procrastination. On the other hand we don’t think it would be a wise decision to shut these kilns if they fails to comply the law by June. Around 16 lakh people, mostly unskilled labourers belonging to the vulnerable section of the society, would lose jobs for five to six months during the peak season if the government shuts the kilns.
Reiterating experts opinion, we think, rather than extending merely the deadlines, the government should first decide on the most energy efficient non-polluting technology and then provide an extension to adopt it gradually as it is quite a costly process. However, in the meantime technology that can curb pollution temporarily should be sought. Considering the socio- economic pitfall, instead of forcefully shutting down non-compliant brick kilns once the deadline expires, the government should encourage the owners to use energy-efficient technologies to produce better quality bricks. It will help phase out the traditional kilns. But, government must ensure that slowly but surely the more viable technology is adapted all over the country.
