Raouf Dar
Srinagar Oct 12: All 53 brick kilns in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district are operating without NOC from the Pollution Control Committee say officials.
There are 53 brick kilns operating in Anantnag district. They have to seek proper NOC from various departments including the Pollution Control Committee (PCC) to run these plants.
However, officials said they all are operating without NOC from the Pollution Control Committee.
“There are many brick kilns which had got NOC a long ago. However, as on date there is no brick kiln in Anantnag which has a valid NOC,” District Officer Pollution Control Board Anantnag Bashir Ahmad said.
“These can’t operate without consent from the Pollution Control Committee. We have also brought this issue into notice of higher ups and district administration. Now district administration has to decide what action can be taken as they operate without NOC from PCC,” he added.
Sources said the government has issued notices several times to proprietors of these brick kilns to seek NOC from the Pollution Control Committee but all in vain.
“The district administration has always lagged behind in taking some concrete steps in checking the gross violation of rules by the brick kiln owners,” locals said.
The locals said the dust produced from many of these units has affected the vegetation near these plants while the concerned authorities are looking the other way.
“The authorities did take some cosmetic measures from time to time due to public outcry, which later dies down as the concerned authorities did not take any action against them for operating without an NOC. If an NOC has been issued a decade ago, how can a proprietor of the plant still operate this brick kiln when this NOC has expired? Some plants have become a nuisance and have adversely affected the ecology in the areas from where these are operating,” Farooq Ahmad, a local of Anantnag said.
