MUZAFFARGARH: The district administration has decided to demolish the brick kilns that are not on zigzag technology.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (finance and planning) Jam Aftab Barar told Dawn on Thursday the administration told the kiln owners to adopt the technology till Dec 31 or face action. He said traditional kilns were adding pollutants to fog and pollution.

In Muzaffargarh there are 210 registered brick kilns while several others not registered with the government are functioning illegally.There is noteven a single zigzag kiln in the entire district.

Dawn has learnt the construction of a zigzag kiln was stopped by the district administration in Sanawan after a lawyer moved the deputy commissioner officer against the construction even though the owner of thezigzag kiln, Saeedullah Khan, got a no-objection certificatefrom the environment department. Later, the planning officials and district administration moved the case to the secretary of environment. The department returned thecase to the DC office for a final decision.

Saeedullah said he spent more than Rs5m on the construction of the modern kiln but his investment went in vain so far. He said officials neither visited the kiln location nor checked the documents before ordering him to stop construction.

He alleged the labour department never took action against the owners of brick kilns violating ban. He alleged some labour officials took monthly from kiln owners.

Civil society said the conversion of kilns on zigzag technology should be encouraged.

Malik Fareed, owner of a kiln, said their business had been stopped under the smog law and they were facing strict vigilance by the labour department.

He said the Muzaffargarh district was already polluted as there were three sugar mills, 22 textile mills, two jute mills, three power plants and PSO and Parco installations, which all were adding pollution to the environmentbut the Punjab government banned brick kilns.

He said if the government wanted to convert kilns onto zig zag, the government should give financial assessment to them.

ADC Jam Aftab claimed that he held meetings with the owners of kilns and informed them about the action.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020