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Brick Kilns: Need for Consensus on Emission Norms

Utilising the National Clean Energy Fund may pave the way for cleaner technology to be used in brick kilns in India.

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India
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On the outskirts of our cities, those long, cylindrical chimneys of ‘bhatta’ (as it is popularly called in Hindi) may have become a familiar sight for many, but very few might be aware of the harmful impact of brick kilns on the environment. In October 2015, the environment ministry had issued a notification specifying certain standard norms to be followed by the brick kiln industry.

Some of the suggestions given by the Centre to the state boards included, “establishing brick kilns at a minimum distance of 0.8 km from villages and fruit orchards.” In order to avoid overcrowding of kilns at a particular location, the ministry had also suggested, “establishing brick kilns at a minimum distance of 1 km from an existing kiln to avoid clustering in an area.” The ministry had in its circular asked for suggestions within a stipulated period of 30-days.

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Utilising the National Clean Energy Fund may pave the way for cleaner technology to be used in brick kilns in India.
Experts want a different set of norms with respect to emission for “new” and “existing” kilns. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Letter By A Group of Experts

On 20 November 2015, a group of experts and environmentalists wrote a letter to the environment ministry, seeking changes to the emission norms for the brick kiln industry, last amended in 2009. This letter accessed by The Quint lists suggestions such as categorising kilns as “existing” and “new” and talks at length about particulate matter emission, standard for both types.

Some of the specific suggestions by a group of nine pollution experts that includes Chandra Bhushan from the Centre for Science and Environment, Sarath Guttikunda, Director of Urban Emissions Pvt Ltd, and few others are as follows:

1) Separate standards for “existing” and “new” kilns with an emphasis on stricter emission norms for new kilns. This is deemed necessary since new kilns will have a longer operational life of 20-30 years.

2) It was proposed that there should be one uniform standard of 250 mg/Nm3 for particulate emissions and not in the range of 250 to 1200 mg/Nm3 for different types of kilns and the change should be implemented within a time frame of 3 years.

3) The standard for ‘new’ kilns set up after 1 January 2016 should be fixed at 100 mg/Nm3.

While these may sound a bit too much, considering there are more than a 1000 brick kilns in NCR region alone, countries such as South Africa and China have already fixed the standard emission norm for new kilns at 50 mg/Nm3.

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Utilising the National Clean Energy Fund may pave the way for cleaner technology to be used in brick kilns in India.
Screenshot of the letter written by experts to the environment ministry on 20 November 2015.
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Is It Doable?

A 2013 study revealed that the emissions from brick kilns constitute 10% of the air pollutants in South Delhi apart from other sources such as vehicles (52%) and diesel generators (11%). With the government announcing “Housing for All” initiative last year, which is to be completed by 2022, the demand for bricks will only witness a spurt in the coming years.

A 2012 UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) report states that India with an annual production of 185 billion bricks per year far exceeds its immediate neighbours – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. But representatives from the brick kiln industry refuse to acknowledge that they are part of a larger problem.

Harish Kumar Rohra, President of the All India Brick and Tiles Manufacturers Federation, an organisation formed by brick kiln owners across India says they have been following all the prescribed rules from day one. “There are 1,40,000 brick kilns across India and around 3 crore people are employed in them, we have been following regulations of the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) and have been abiding by the court’s order as well,” said Rohra in a telephonic conversation with The Quint.

Brick kiln industry is being tarnished unnecessarily, what about those working in these kilns, if you snatch away their means of livelihood, they will probably become Naxals, what kind of social security will you provide them?
Harish Kumar Rohra, President, AIBTMF
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Utilising the National Clean Energy Fund may pave the way for cleaner technology to be used in brick kilns in India.
Representatives from the brick industry fear the loss of livelihood of crores of people employed at kilns across India. (Photo: iStockphoto)
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Experts’ Comment

But experts emphasise on the need to shift to cleaner technology in the next three years with an objective to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and black carbon. In an email response, Sameer Maithel, Director, Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd, and one of the signatories of the letter to the Environment Ministry says, “In the past, emission standards notified by the ministry in 1996 took around five years for around 30,000 kilns to shift to the new technology.”

If a coordinated approach is adopted and the state governments are taken into confidence, the 3-year timeline (of shifting to cleaner technology) is feasible.
Sameer Maithel, Director, Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd.

Sameer’s firm is associated with assisting projects and providing solutions based on renewable energy and environment-friendly ways.

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Utilising the National Clean Energy Fund may pave the way for cleaner technology to be used in brick kilns in India.
Labourers carrying raw unbaked bricks and stacking them inside the furnace, Tripura, May 2011. (Photo: iStockphoto)
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Utilising the National Clean Energy Fund

In his budget speech on 28 February 2016, finance minister Arun Jaitley announced that environment cess (or the levy on coal, lignite and peat) is being doubled from Rs 200 per tonne to Rs 400 per tonne. Coal being an important raw material which is used in the brick industry will lead to a collection of around Rs 700 crore (an estimated amount for 2015-16) under the ambit of the National Clean Energy Fund.

Environmentalists believe if this fund can be utilised to create awareness among brick entrepreneurs, upgrade skills of brick kiln workers and create technical cells at the state level for upgrading technology, then things can change for better.

In a federal set up, however, noble intentions of the centre will depend a lot on the states’ ability to implement the new norms strictly in their respective regions.

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