There is a bad news for those planning construction work after Diwali. The brick manufactures of Gujarat have decided not to begin production for the next season beginning October.
Owing to the unavailability of lignite from the Pandhro site, coupled with a new registration policy of the state government, nearly half of the 1,200 kilns across the state find themselves “disqualified” for production.
On stake is production of 2,000 crore bricks in the six-month season after Diwali. Precisely, it means acute short supply, loss of employment for nearly six lakh people and a business loss to the construction and transportation industries.
This April, the government discontinued the lignite supply from Pandhro site in Kutch district in a bid to reserve this mineral site for energy generation. With this, not only the quota of eight trucks, each weighing 10.5 tones, per fortnight per kiln, was suspended by the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), but also all the kilns were asked to re-register themselves to avail their quota from other sites. These sites include the Mata Nau Madh Rajpardi and Tadkeshwar.
“We are not in a position to restart the production. Lignite available from the alternate sites is of inferior quality. Also, several registrations stand cancelled. Half of the existing kilns, especially the mid and small scale ones, stand disqualified for new procedure,” said Devendra Prajapati from the Gujarat Federation of Brick Manufactures (GFBM).
So far, only two per cent of the 1,200 kilns have gone for registration, while the rest are contemplating on a protest. The manufacturers, who are not in a mood to use the inferior quality raw material as it will increase their production cost, are scheduled to meet on September 7 at Ahmedabad to decide on their future course of action.
“A small unit that produces 20 to 30 lakh bricks per season and medium size units that manufacture 40 to 60 lakh bricks, use mobile chimney. However, according to the new laws introduced by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), the mobile chimney units do not qualify for production,” said Vasant Prajapati, a GFBM member.
The GPCB certificate is one of the mandatory documents along with VAT, sales tax, balance sheet, and annual audit report papers for getting the registration done from the GMDC. Over 40 per cent of the total units fall in the small and medium scale category. This figure does not include the non-registered small scale units, which is said to be around 2,000.
“The non-registered kilns, which account for 40 per cent of the total production, have been depending on free sale of lignite from middlemen. But the government has come down heavily on the middlemen and enforced a complete ban on it,” said Bhogibhai Prajapati, a brick manufacturer from Ahmedabad.
GMDC officials, meanwhile, said that manufactures have been given alternative options for lignite supply.
Due to the short supply of lignite, the brick rates have already gone up from Re 1 per piece to Rs 3. Pandhro was the sole lignite resource for the industry for the last 20 years. Prior to that, manufactures used smoke coal procured from Bihar and Maharashtra.
Manufactures have now said that even if they accept the supply from Mata Nau Madh, Rajpardi or Tadkeshwar, the quota has been reduced to five trucks per kiln. This has been done because these sites are smaller, and cannot supply for more than 400 trucks per day. In contrast, the Pandhro site was big enough for supply to nearly 1,600 trucks a day.
Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com
Owing to the unavailability of lignite from the Pandhro site, coupled with a new registration policy of the state government, nearly half of the 1,200 kilns across the state find themselves “disqualified” for production.
On stake is production of 2,000 crore bricks in the six-month season after Diwali. Precisely, it means acute short supply, loss of employment for nearly six lakh people and a business loss to the construction and transportation industries.
This April, the government discontinued the lignite supply from Pandhro site in Kutch district in a bid to reserve this mineral site for energy generation. With this, not only the quota of eight trucks, each weighing 10.5 tones, per fortnight per kiln, was suspended by the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), but also all the kilns were asked to re-register themselves to avail their quota from other sites. These sites include the Mata Nau Madh Rajpardi and Tadkeshwar.
“We are not in a position to restart the production. Lignite available from the alternate sites is of inferior quality. Also, several registrations stand cancelled. Half of the existing kilns, especially the mid and small scale ones, stand disqualified for new procedure,” said Devendra Prajapati from the Gujarat Federation of Brick Manufactures (GFBM).
So far, only two per cent of the 1,200 kilns have gone for registration, while the rest are contemplating on a protest. The manufacturers, who are not in a mood to use the inferior quality raw material as it will increase their production cost, are scheduled to meet on September 7 at Ahmedabad to decide on their future course of action.
“A small unit that produces 20 to 30 lakh bricks per season and medium size units that manufacture 40 to 60 lakh bricks, use mobile chimney. However, according to the new laws introduced by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), the mobile chimney units do not qualify for production,” said Vasant Prajapati, a GFBM member.
The GPCB certificate is one of the mandatory documents along with VAT, sales tax, balance sheet, and annual audit report papers for getting the registration done from the GMDC. Over 40 per cent of the total units fall in the small and medium scale category. This figure does not include the non-registered small scale units, which is said to be around 2,000.
“The non-registered kilns, which account for 40 per cent of the total production, have been depending on free sale of lignite from middlemen. But the government has come down heavily on the middlemen and enforced a complete ban on it,” said Bhogibhai Prajapati, a brick manufacturer from Ahmedabad.
GMDC officials, meanwhile, said that manufactures have been given alternative options for lignite supply.
Due to the short supply of lignite, the brick rates have already gone up from Re 1 per piece to Rs 3. Pandhro was the sole lignite resource for the industry for the last 20 years. Prior to that, manufactures used smoke coal procured from Bihar and Maharashtra.
Manufactures have now said that even if they accept the supply from Mata Nau Madh, Rajpardi or Tadkeshwar, the quota has been reduced to five trucks per kiln. This has been done because these sites are smaller, and cannot supply for more than 400 trucks per day. In contrast, the Pandhro site was big enough for supply to nearly 1,600 trucks a day.
Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com