Thirteen crore tonnes of agricul-tural soil is being destroyed in the country every year due to brick kilns, said Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury in parliament yesterday.

The minister made this statement while replying to a question from independent MP Syed Sayedul Haque from Habiganj-4, better known as Barrister Suman.

Destroying agricultural soil for brick kilns has implications over the country's food security, Saber added.

In reply to another query from ruling Awami League lawmaker Nur Uddin Chowdhury, the minister said the country has to shift to a more eco-friendly method of making bricks.

Closing or demolishing brick kilns is not the only solution. We are trying to shift towards block bricks, he said.

"We will close existing brick kilns in a planned manner, so that development doesn't get disrupted. The price of bricks should not increase," he added.

The environment ministry has conducted 2,516 raids in relation to the illegal production and use of polythene rom January 2019 to December 2023, the minister said.

Fines amounting to Tk 6.17 crore were collected in 4,207 cases, Saber told the House.

He said 170 people have been imprisoned for various periods and 2,071.37 tonnes of polythene, grains and raw materials have been seized. Additionally, 16 regular cases have been filed.