Dozens of illegal brick kilns have resumed operations in Savar and Dhamrai on the outskirts of Dhaka, days after the Department of Environment (DoE) had fined the owners, due to the authorities’ failure to fully destroy those, and lack of monitoring.

Between November 6 and December 30 last year, DoE mobile courts partially demolished and fined 30 brick kilns a total of Tk 2.24 crore in six phases, DoE sources said.

This correspondent was present during three such drives against 14 brick kilns in Dhamrai on November 29 and against five in Savar on December 16. The mobile courts fined and destroyed around 5-20 percent parts of those brick kilns. But, their chimneys were left untouched.

During a recent visit to those areas, The Daily Star found all the 30 brick kilns -- including TBC, MSB, Chand Mia, Karnaphuli and Masum Super Bricks kilns in Savar’s Genda -- continuing operations.

Locals and an expert told The Daily Star that the brick kilns owners did so one or two days after the drives.

It happens because the actions taken by authorities are not adequate, they said.

Prof Jamal Uddin Runu of environmental science department at Jahangirnagar University said if the DoE wants to stop illegal brick kilns, they will have to tear those down fully.

Echoing him, Anowar Hossen from Genda said the brick kiln owners should be imprisoned as well.

Rahim Uddin from Dhamrai’s Vararia said seven illegal brick kilns restarted operations in the area only a day after they had been fined Tk 5 lakh each on December 30. Only 1-2 percent of those were demolished, he said.

In six phases, the DoE fined one brick kiln Tk 20 lakh, nine of them Tk 12 each, 18 of them Tk 5 lakh each and two of them Tk 3 lakh each, according to DoE sources and media reports.

WHAT OWNERS SAY

Shohidul Islam, manager of Abul Bashar Bricks in Vararia, said they paid Tk 5 lakh fine. “We restarted operations as the mobile court did not order us to stop it,” he added.

Azahar Ali, owner of Airin Bricks in Dhamrai’s Dautia area, said he was fined Tk 12 lakh. “I had all documents from DC office and DoE. I applied for their renewal, but to no avail,” he said.

Many do not even have any document to run their businesses, he added.

Azahar said he resumed operations as he invested crores of taka and many labourers depend on his brick kiln.

Similar comments came from Hannan Mia, manager of TBC Brick in Savar’s Namagenda; Mozibor Rahman, manager of Karnaphuli Bricks in area; and Chand Mia, owner of Chand Mia Bricks.

Kamrul Hasan Shahin, owner of MSB Bricks and a Jubo League leader of Savar Municipality unit, refused to comment why he resumed operations.

CONTROVERSY OVER NUMBER

This correspondent visited the office of Dhamrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) to collect information about brick kilns -- such as how many are legal and how many illegal.

UNO Shamiul Haque said, “We have no information about the number. If needed, go to the DoE or DC offices.”  

Contacted, Shaheda Begum, deputy director of DoE (Dhaka district), did not provide the information instantly. “Submit application under RTI Act, and we will give the list of brick kilns in Savar and Dhamrai.”

Similar suggestion came from Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer’s office.

The Daily Star could not reach Savar UNO Parvezur Rahman as he did not respond to phone calls repeatedly made by this correspondent.

However, Abdur Rashid, secretary of Dhamrai Brick Kilns Owners’ Association, said there are 170 brick kilns under the association. Majority of them have not been getting DoE clearance for more than a year, he admitted.

Asadur Rahman Khan, former vice president of Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners’ Association, could not specify the number in Savar and Dhamrai. He said about 1,200 brick kilns exist in entire Dhaka.

AUTHORITIES’ VERSIONS

Begum Rubina Ferdousi, director (monitoring and enforcement) of DoE, said they don’t know that all the fined brick kilns have resumed operations. “We acknowledge that several of them are doing so.”

“We will conduct mobile court drives again,” she said.

When asked it is possible to stop illegal brick kilns by demolishing only 5-20 percent of their bodies, Ferdousi said, “We have manpower and equipment crises. We have to depend on hired excavator to carry out demolition.”

Under Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kilns Establishment (Control) Act 2013, an illegal brick kiln owner can be sentenced to maximum two years’ imprisonment or fined up to Tk 20 lakh, or both.

In the recent drives, the owners were fined Tk 3-12 lakh. When asked that the conviction could be more than that as there is such a provision in the law, DoE Executive Magistrate Maksudul Islam said, “It is a judicial matter.”

HC ORDER

Following a writ petition, the High Court on November 26 ordered the government to conduct drives to shut down illegal brick kilns in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj and Manikganj within 15 days.

Advocate Manzil Morshed, who filed the petition, told The Daily Star that DoE submitted a report to the HC on January 8, mentioning that it shut down around 159 illegal brick kilns in the five districts.

He said if there is any inconsistency between the report and reality, contempt of court allegation will be brought against DoE officials.