The recent notification issued by Uttar Pradesh government directing the brick kiln industry to change its technology is "inadequate" and will not help curb pollution, a Delhi based green body said today.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said that the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has issued a notice to brick entrepreneurs of Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Hapur and directed them to convert from natural draft kilns to induced draft kilns in 90 days.
The step has been taken to reduce air pollution from brick kiln sources to improve the air quality in Delhi and NCR.
"The UPPCB has rightly identified brick kiln as an important source of air pollution. However the technological solution suggested - changing over from natural draft to induced draft - is inadequate and will not lead to reduction in pollution.
"It is very likely that the majority of the kiln would adopt a short cut by fitting a dummy fan which will never run," said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of CSE.
He said that the notification should have also addressed issues such as arrangement of bricks, fuel feeding mechanisms and air flow which are very important factors to ensure pollution reduction.
CSE researchers also noted that the notification should also include a change-over to fly ash brick manufacturing.
It is estimated that the brick kiln sector is the fourth largest contributor to PM10 emissions in the NCR region after transport, road dust and thermal power plants.
While brick manufacturing has been banned in Delhi, it has thrived in areas surrounding the capital with NCR's massive thrust on construction providing it the boost. There are around 700 brick kilns in the three districts of Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Hapur.
Experiences from other states suggest that pollution reduction from kilns working on induced draft has not been satisfactory, it said.
CSE said that the UPPCB notification also misses the
opportunity to move brick kiln operators of NCR to flyash brick making.
The green body said that power plants in and around Delhi have huge stocks of unutilised ash in their ponds which is also one of the major contributors to air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
"During summer, coal and fly ash contribute about 30 per cent of PM10 emissions. A CSE analysis shows that the pond ash availability in Dadri and Badarpur is around 12 and 12.5 million tonnes respectively.
"Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Hapur together supply nearly two billion bricks to New Delhi and surrounding regions - these bricks have a potential to utilise over 2 million tonnes of fly ash," CSE said.
It said that there is adequate technical understanding and experience available in the country to reduce pollution from the brick kiln industry.
"The UPPCB and the brick kilns owners can use these to make the right technological choices that will help in reducing air pollution in the NCR region as well as modernise the brick industry.
"The UPPCB needs to come up with a clear technological road-map for the brick sector to effectively contribute towards curbing air pollution," Bhushan said.
CSE recommended that the notification should be amended and it should state that the existing natural draft 'Bulls Trench Kiln' should be replaced with cleaner technologies such as natural or induced draft 'Zig-Zag Kiln, VSBK, Hoffman or Tunnel Kiln.
