New Delhi, March 28 Activists have claimed that the Uttar Pradesh government has not established a mechanism for brick kiln operators to obtain environmental clearance, despite having issued an order mandating it over three months ago.
On December 16, 2025, the state government enacted an order requiring prior environmental approval for minor mining activities, such as the extraction of clay for brick kiln operations. However, activists argue that the government has not provided any means, either online or offline, for operators to apply for these approvals.
The mining department did not respond when contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, brick kiln owners stated that they are already obtaining approvals from the State Pollution Control Board to ensure compliance with water and air quality standards. They also mentioned that they pay a regulatory fee to the mining department.
"Despite that, if we need to obtain approval from the state environment department, we have no issues, provided the process is simple and free from middlemen," a brick kiln operator said.
Activists pointed out that before 2020, brick kiln owners used to apply for environmental approvals. However, a state government's notification dated May 1, 2020, exempted "the manual digging of ordinary/normal soil up to a depth of 2 metres from getting prior environment clearance". Following this notification, the brick kiln owners were no longer required to get environmental clearance.
Lawyer Rajeev Kumar Bajpai, who filed a PIL in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on this issue, said, "After the UP government's exemption, the Bihar government also issued a similar notification, but the Patna High Court struck it down on March 7, 2024."
The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge to the Patna High Court order on July 22, 2024. Following the rulings, the Union Ministry of Environment, on August 9, 2024, urged all the states to comply with the Patna High Court's order.
"Despite the Central Government's advice to states, when the UP government didn't withdraw the exemption, I filed a public interest litigation before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in August 2025," Bajpai said.
He added, "I prayed before the court to direct the state government to comply with the order. However, before the Hon'ble Court could pass any order, the state government issued a notification on December 16, 2025, directing all the brick kiln owners to obtain environmental clearance."
Another lawyer, Arvind Kumar Rai, who has been involved in environmental issues related to brick kiln operators since 2015, echoed Bajpai's concerns, saying that the approval process has still not been operationalised in the state, even after three months since the government issued its order.
On the other hand, brick kiln owners stated they are open to obtaining approvals as long as the process does not lead to harassment.
"The approval process only benefits middlemen. Earlier, they exploited money from brick kiln operators by helping them secure approvals because the system was complicated and lengthy. I urge the government to establish a simple and user-friendly approval process so that it does not lead to harassment," an operator said.
Operators also mentioned that they already comply with water and air quality standards, noting that the environmental clearance primarily concerns noise pollution.
Advocate Rai suggested that the issue could be resolved if the state government imposed a condition: that it would not collect any royalty fees and would grant operational approval only to brick kiln owners who already possess environmental clearance.
