HC asks govt to pull down 130 illegal brick kilns in CHT

The High Court on Monday asked the government to raze 130 unregistered brick kilns and related establishments in three hill districts of Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari to curb air pollution.

The order was passed by the HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Fatema Najib responding to a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a rights group.

The bench also asked the deputy commissioners of the hill districts to take legal action against the owners of the illegal brick kilns there and submit a progress report on it within six weeks.

Advocate Manzill Murshid stood for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy represented the state.

According to Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) Act, 2013, no brick kiln without a license can operate in the country and the owners can be jailed for two years for violating the law.

Despite the law many run unauthorized brick kilns across the country, polluting environment.

The deputy commissioners concerned of the three hill districts recently submited separate reports regarding the illegal brick kilns.

According to the reports, there are 25 illegal brick kilns in Rangamati, 35 in Khagrachhari and 70 in Bandarban. The local administration has closed down 64 brick kilns in the hilly districts.