The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has recently ordered the electricity board to suspend power supply to 100 such units in Perur, Madukkarai, Mettupalayam and Karamadai areas.
Sources said many illegal units came up in these locations after the district administration initiated closure proceedings against brick kilns in the Thadagam region in 2021 as they were polluting the surrounding environment.
However, the new units were set up without getting permission from TNPCB and a no-objection certificate from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA), according to TNPCB’s order issued to the brick kiln units under Section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
The order, a copy of which is available, also directed the unit owners to close down the kilns. It stated that the illegal units were located in mixed residential areas and failed to satisfy the criteria and other guidelines issued by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change for the brick kilns. It said the units failed to obtain land use reclassification and building plan approvals from the competent authorities.
The TNPCB action comes after the Madras high court, while hearing a PIL last month, expressed dissatisfaction with the board for lacking details about brick kiln units in the district that were closed for violation.
Welcoming the TNPCB’s order, K Kalidas, president of Osai, an NGO, said brick kilns should be operated after getting proper consent from the authorities.