Environment ministry hosts meeting to tackle pollution by brick kilns

The environment ministry convened a meeting with district commissioners on Tuesday to discuss ways to prevent pollution by brick kilns and plastic waste.

Ministry Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed, Additional Secretary Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary Md Mizanur Rahaman, Deputy Secretary Dr Syed Shahjahan Ahmed, Director General of the Department of Environment Dr Abdul Hamid and Khalilur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Brick Kiln Owners Association, were present at the meeting.

The 64 district commissioners and field-level officials of the environment department virtually attended the meeting held at the ministry building in the capital.

Secretary Dr Farhina said, to ensure food security of the country, the use and destruction of agricultural land for brick kilns must be stopped. She called upon the district commissioners to take strict action against illegal and environment polluting brick kilns while also preventing felling of trees and burning of wood as fuel for the kilns. She ordered the environment department chief to take necessary steps to ensure the use of 100% eco-friendly block bricks in all government works by 2025 to meet government target. In order to involve all the stakeholders to prevent various types of pollution including from brick kilns, she instructed the department to organise awareness raising campaigns throughout the country on an urgent basis.
Deputy Secretary Dr Shahjahan presented papers on the damage done by brick kilns and steps taken against illegal set-ups.

In the meeting, it was also decided to strengthen the regular enforcement and mobile court activities of the environment department and the district administration to stop the production and use of polythene shopping bags and the use of plastic wrappers which have been banned by the government. It was decided to take necessary initiatives to implement the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2021 for the proper management of solid waste.  In addition, instructions were given to implement a three-year action plan to stop the use of single-use plastic in 40 upazilas of 12 districts of the coastal region on an urgent basis.

In the meeting, the environment ministry and department officials expressed their views on taking effective measures to shut down illegal brick kilns and reduce plastic pollution. They also requested to update the relevant laws and regulations and solve some of the existing problems. Khalilur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Brick Kiln Owners Association, gave a speech by highlighting the various problems of brick kilns and vowing to comply with the relevant regulations.