4 brick kilns fined Tk 16 lakh in Gopalganj drive

GOPALGANJ, May 6: A mobile court fined four brick kilns a total of Tk 16 lakh in Gopalganj Sadar Upazila on Wednesday for operating without environmental clearance and permission to extract soil.

The drive was conducted in the afternoon at Sohag Bricks, Raj Bricks, Star Bricks and Shiar Bricks, following allegations of irregularities in their operations.

Executive Magistrate Aniruddha Dev Roy led the operation, assisted by Executive Magistrate AKM Faizul Bari. Executive Magistrates Fardeen Khan Prince and Mohammad Mamunur Rashid, along with officials from the district administration and environment department, were present during the drive.

Officials said the action was taken after receiving information that several brick kilns in the area were running in violation of environmental rules and without proper authorisation for soil collection.

During the inspection, the mobile court found that the kilns had no valid clearance from the Department of Environment. They were also operating without legal permission for digging and transporting soil, which is a mandatory requirement under existing laws.

Following the findings, the court imposed fines on the four kilns. Sohag Bricks was fined Tk 4 lakh, Raj Bricks Tk 3 lakh, Star Bricks Tk 4 lakh, and Shiar Bricks Tk 5 lakh, bringing the total penalty to Tk 16 lakh.

The magistrate also ordered the demolition of the kiln furnaces on the spot to prevent further illegal operation. In addition, four separate cases were filed against the kiln owners under the Brick Manufacturing and Kiln Establishment (Control) Act, 2013 for violating environmental and licensing regulations.