Tripura High Court has ordered the closure of brick kilns in the state, which have been flouting the statutory environmental clearance for manufacturing. They were barred to operate and carry out any commercial activity, without complying the statutory provisions.
A division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Arindam Lodh, while examining the affidavit filed by Tripura State Pollution Control Board, found that almost all 393 brick kilns in the state have been running without having obtained or submitted the environmental clearances.
According to record, there are 393 brick kilns in the state and last year 280 brick kilns were functional, 70 brick kilns last were not functional due to the scarcity of coal and 43 brick kilns were found permanently non-functional.
The court directed the chairman and member secretary of Tripura state pollution control board to personally undertake physical inspection all the brick kilns unit within the state to ascertain factum of compliance of the statutory laws and regulations and report back to the high court within two weeks.
