VietNamNet Bridge – Admitting that eliminating brick kilns is a must, but the Nghe An provincial authorities say that the removal cannot be done overnight.

Not only causing environment pollution and bringing diseases, the brick kilns have also made agricultural land damaged. More seriously, experts say even if the brick kilns can be removed later, the land would still be useless.

Brick kilns kill agricultural production

The two brick kilns located in Trung Thanh hamlet in Hung Dong Commune, next to the fence of Tran Van Ngo’s house can make out hundreds of thousands of bricks every batch. Their smoke has been covering the houses of the local residents day and night, bringing thick smoke, diseases, and covering gardens and rice fields, step by step killing the agricultural production.

Ngo said his family is now cultivating 300 square meters of rice field. However, with the smoke covering all year round, it is very difficult to maintain production. The yield has decreased by a half, while the crops once completely failed.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, a local resident in Trung Thanh hamlet, also complained that the smoke from kilns brings terrible heat which makes plants unable to survive. Her 2000 square meter garden once was full of vegetables, but no plant can be grown in the garden any more.

“There is now only one guava tree, which is withering,” she said.

Tran Dang Ninh in Trung My hamlet, said that local residents have many times reported about the bad influences of the brick kilns to the life and agricultural production. However, no considerable progress has been made except the promises by the kilns’ owners that the kilns would not operate in some certain months of the year in order to help farmers cultivate rice.

However, according to Ninh, when the brick prices increase, which promises fat profits, the kilns still operate, while the owners accept to compensate farmers’ loss.

The people in hamlets 1 and 2 of Nghi Phuong Commune and Van Tai hamlet of Nghi Hoa Commune showed Phap luat & Xa hoi reporters the soil which has been exploited to serve the kilns. The land plots have become deep ponds which cannot be cultivated any more.

The Hung Dong Commune in Vinh City alone has 10 hectares, while the Nghi Hoa Commune in Nghi Loc district has 15 hectares of uncultivated land.

Eliminating brick kilns – when?

According to Phap luat & Xa hoi, to date, in Nghe An province, brick kilns have been completely removed only in Nam Dan district. Le Van Binh, Head of the district’s Sub-department for Natural Resources and the Environment, said that all the 40 brick kilns have been eliminated after the Decision No 114 dated in June 2011.

Meanwhile, the brick kilns in other districts have been “immovable”. Tan Ky is considered the district with the highest number of brick kilns. In fact, the local authorities have decided that all the kilns must be eliminated by 2012, but if drastic measures are not applied, the goal may be out of reach of the local authorities.

The Do Luong district’s authorities are still programming the construction material development in the areas which gather many brick kilns, including the areas in the communes of Minh Son and Nhan Son. The district’s authorities also assign commune’s authorities to collect money for the contracts on leasing land to kilns. The activities are just like to lend a hand to the brick kilns.

The reporters could not meet Hoang Trong Kim, Director of the Nghe An provincial Construction Department because the official refused to arrange a meeting. Meanwhile, Nguyen Trong Do, an official of the department, whom the reporters contacted, just said briefly that the local authorities well understand that it is necessary to remove the kilns, but this work cannot be completed overnight.

Also according to Do, there are still more than 300 operational kilns in the province.

Source: Phap luat & Xa hoi