Jharkhand High Court Mandates Environmental Clearance for Brick Kilns, DMFT Contribution

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Monday ordered all brick kiln operators in the state to obtain a certificate of environmental clearance from the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board for running their kilns.A division bunch of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Arun Kumar Rai while hearing several petitions filed by brick kiln owners of East Singhbhum dismissed their petitions holding that the kiln operators will also have to obtain a consent to operate from the Board. The kiln operators had challenged the directive of the govt which made mandatory for them to obtain the environmental clearance certificate.The court also ordered the kiln operators to deposit a fixed share of their earning in the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) for use of soil in making bricks. The court held that the soil used for making bricks comes under the category of minor minerals and therefore is governed by the Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2004.The brick kiln operators will have to deposit money in the DMFT because large-scale soil excavation is done for making bricks which has a toll on the environment, the court observed.The DMFT has been created to compensate for impacts made on the environment by using minerals. Such use of minerals affects the environment for which it is imperative that operators give their due by contributing in the DMFT, the court held.