Illegal brick kilns’ safe haven

At least 71 brick kilns are illegally operating on the residential and agricultural lands in the seven upazilas of Mymensingh, seriously threatening the ecological balance of the district, environmentalists say.

According to the Deputy Commissioner's office and the Department of Environment (DoE), in total, there are 82 brick kilns in the area, of which 71 are operating without any legal authorisation. However, the local administration sources could not specify how these brick kilns are running without any authorisation from the government. These illegal brick kilns have been established in Sadar, Islampur, Dewanganj, Melandah, Madarganj, Sarishabari and Bakshigan upazilas.

Wishing to stay anonymous, an official of the DoE told The Business Post that it is mandatory for this kind of establishment to seek a legal licence from the authorities concerned. “However, I have no idea how these illegal establishments have been running without any authorisation for more than four months now.”

He, along with some locals, claimed that the owners of these establishments have formed some kind of syndicate with some unscrupulous personnel of the local administration and DoE and running their businesses. As they are backed by some influential people from the government, the authorities concerned are being indifferent to their illegal activities.

As per the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the establishment of brickfields in residential, protected, commercial and agricultural areas, and also in forests, sanctuaries, wetlands and Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) is prohibited and it will be considered as a criminal offence, with varying degrees of punishment for offenders to be determined by the nature of the areas involved.

Dr Monjurul Kader, chief scientific officer of Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), said the violation of this will be treated as an offence and the punishment for this offence is a maximum of two years in prison or a financial penalty of a maximum of Tk 20 lakh or both. For excessive gas emission and liquid wastage, the fine will be one year's imprisonment or Tk 1 lakh or both.

None of these laws is maintained in these establishments, and the authorities concerned can take legal actions against them at any time. However, they take little to no measures to stop these illegal activities, and as a result, more illegal brick kilns are erupting in the area, locals claimed.

Amzad Hossain Babul, a 60-year-old farmer of the Piarpur area, told The Business Post that officials from an illegal brick kiln named ABC have occupied 68 decimal of his land and using it for their purpose illegally. "They also took 10 to 12-foot deep topsoil from my other agricultural land by force," he added.

The toxic smoke emitted from the brick kilns is harmful to the environment. The wastage these establishments produce is lying around schools, college, and residential areas, which badly affects the health of the students and other residents of the locality, said Jahangir Selim, president of Poribesh Rokkha Andolan, adding that he contacted the local administration officials numerous times on this regard. Still, they did not pay heed to the matter.

Jakir Hossain Khan, general secretary of Brick Kiln Owners' Association of the district, said that the brick kiln owners have to go through a difficult process to acquire legal authorisation from the authorities concerned, and it is also very time-consuming.

"That is why it is difficult for the brick kiln owners to get a registration, and they often lose interest to acquire one. I would request the authorities concerned to make the process easier for the sake of the brick kiln owners," Jakir said.

Addressing the issue, Masud Rana, an assistant director of DoE, said that they are informed about the operation of the countless illegal brick kilns in the area. "We will soon contact the deputy commissioner of the district to take legal action against them," he said.

Echoing his remarks, DC Mursheda Jaman told The Business Post that she directed the Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO) of the respective upazilas to take legal action against the responsible people.

Unauthorised setting up of a brickfield in a residential, protected or commercial location will lead to a maximum punishment of five years in prison or a financial penalty of a maximum of Tk 5 lakh or both. No one will be allowed to set up a brickfield without a licence, the DC added.