Brick kilns near reserve forest defying laws

Three brick kilns in operation near Kattali reserve forest, the tree line being seen in the background, at Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong recently. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

As per law, a brick kiln and a reserve forest must stand at least three kilometres apart. But the distance between the tree line of Kattali reserve forest in Chittagong and four brick fields in the area is zero kilometres--in fact, the industrial setups appear to be located on a large clearing of the 334-acre forest.

The operation of the brick kilns that emit toxic gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and harmful particles is not a recent phenomenon. They are as old as a decade or more. The JAB brick field opened in 1998, KML 1 and 2 in 2002, ARC in 2004, according to their officials.
Operating from October to April every year, the kilns are surrounded on the west, north and south by the forest and an embankment on the east.
Ironically, at least three government agencies entrusted with checking pollution and conserving forested areas appeared to have been nearly silent in the last 10 years, except for some isolated efforts.
In the meantime, the toxic emissions are having impacts on the forest biodiversity. Locals say that with its muddy beach, green forest, fields and canals, the Kattali area, most of which is located in Sitakunda upazila but a stone's throw from Chittagong city, was a birds' paradise a decade ago.
The whole area buzzed with the twittering of local species like dove, heron, kingfisher, and parakeet. In addition, every winter it drew flocks of migratory birds, a sight barely seen today. “Now you could hardly see any migratory bird in the beach even in mid-winter,” said Anisur Rahman, a local businessman.
Besides, the growth of the forest trees is being hampered for the toxic emissions, said Dr Mohammed Shafiul Alam, professor of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science, Chittagong University.  
The four kilns, one of them currently out of operation, are not only harming the forest biodiversity, they do not have necessary documents in a sheer violation of the Brick Kiln Control (Amended) Act, 2001 that prohibits setting up of such establishments within a radius of three kilometres of a reserve forest.
None of the four does have the environmental clearance certificate, said Md Zafar Alam, director of the Department of Environment, Chittagong, which is empowered to conduct drives and close any industrial unit polluting environment and flouting laws.

A notice board of the Forest Department, containing a not-to-do list, stands right by the brick field. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

Mohammed Musa and Md Jahed, managers of KML and ARC brick kilns respectively, however, contradicted the DoE official, claiming that they had all necessary documents though they could not produce any of them when asked for by this correspondent.
The DoE director said his agency carried out a drive and shut the kilns in 2011 but their owners later secured a stay order from the High Court that allowed them to continue operation.
The Forest Department wrote to the Deputy Commissioner's office and the DoE in February 2013, urging action against the kilns, to no avail, said RSM Munirul Islam, divisional officer, Chittagong coastal forest division.
Talking to The Daily Star, Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shahin Imran said, “We fined KML and ARC Tk 50,000 each and ordered them to stop operation in a drive on January 29, as they could not show any valid documents.”
When told that the kilns were seen running operation on Thursday, he said, “We would take stern action and demolish the kilns immediately.”
Asked why no action was taken in the last 10 years, he replied, "I don't know whether they have been running for more than a decade but I took action immediately after it came to our notice."