Action taken against 458 illegal brick kilns: Saber

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has taken action against 458 illegal brick kilns till March 10 as part of the ministrys 100 working-day action plan.

"Of these 458 brick kilns, 209 have been shut down," Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said at a meeting held at the Bangladesh Secretariat at the review meeting of the implementation progress of the 100-day priority action plan of his ministry, a release said.

During the meeting, he also asked the officials to announce the revised road map for the use of 100 per cent blocks in government construction and take necessary measures, including communicating with the concerned departments, to provide financial incentives to the entrepreneurs who are producing blocks.
"Using brick kiln tracker, the campaign against polluting by brick kilns will continue to check air pollution in the country, including Dhaka city," Saber Hossain said.

Environment Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed, Additional Secretary (Administration) of the ministry Iqbal Abdullah Harun, Additional Secretary (Environment) Dr Fahmida Khanom, Director General of the Department of Environment (DoE) Dr Abdul Hamid and Chief Conservator of Forests Md Amir Hosain Chowdhury were, among others, present at the meeting.

Due to the use of technology, he said, the officials concerned will not have the opportunity to choose brick kilns as per their own choice.

The environment minister directed the officials concerned to continue to take legal measures against some construction firms, transport and factories those are polluting the environment.