National Green Tribunal
Jeetu Yadav vs Up State Pollution Control Board ... on 11 July, 2025
Item No. 04 Court No. 1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
Original Application No. 889/2022
(IA No 321/2022, IA No 18/2024,
IA No 14/2024, IA No 13/2024)
Jeetu Yadav Applicant
Versus
UP State Pollution Control Board & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 11.07.2025
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CHAIRPERSON
HON'BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER
Applicant: None Present
Respondent: Ms. Priyanka Swami, Adv. for the State of UP
Ms. Sthavi Asthana, Adv. for UPPCB
ORDER
1. In this Original Application (OA), applicant has alleged that large number of brick kilns are running illegally in Districts Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur and Amroha in Uttar Pradesh.
2. Tribunal by order dated 14.12.2022 had taken note of various regulatory provisions and had constituted a joint committee to verify the facts and file action taken report. The matter thereafter has been listed on several occasions.
3. Report of the joint committee as well as response of the respondents have been considered in the previous proceedings. Respondents in their reports have disclosed the brick kilns which were operating illegally and action taken against them.
4. Latest report dated 09.07.2025 filed by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) projects a comprehensive picture in respect of status of the brick kilns which are illegally operating in Districts Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur and Amroha. This report also 1 discloses the action taken against these brick kilns. In the report, respondent-UPPCB has disclosed the status of the brick kilns in these four districts as under-:
"4. That the status with regard to district Rampur is as follows:
Total No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of brick Amount No. Brick brick brick brick defaulter kilns recovered Brick kilns kilns kilns kilns brick kilns demolished against of with closed without for found for environmental Kilns valid due to valid which operating in violation of compensation consent their consent closure violation of closure own (1-2-3) order closure order orders reasons was and against issued which environmental compensation has been imposed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 213 127 32 54 54 26 0 0
5. That the total number of brick kilns in Rampur district is 213. A list of the brick kilns in Rampur District is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 3.
6. That out of the 213 brick kilns mentioned above, closure orders have been issued against 54 brick kilns (including 26 defaulter brick kilns) by UPPCB under Section 31A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, which are presently in force.
7. That Environmental Compensation has been imposed as per rules against a total of 26 brick kilns found operating in violation of closure order issued to them by the State Board. A list of 26 brick of Kilns in Rampur district found operating in violation of closure order and against which environmental compensation has been imposed is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 4.
8. That in compliance with the order dated 20.01.2025, the State Board had earlier ensured the closure of the said 26 defaulter brick kilns. Further, in the month of March, 2025, the said 26 brick kilns were inspected along with the District Administration and the closure was verified again, in relation to which the report of the action taken by the District Administration and Pollution Control Board was filed by the DM Rampur before this Hon'ble through affidavit dated 04.04.2025.
29. That the status with regard to district Moradabad is as follows:
Total No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of brick Amount No. Brick brick brick brick defaulter kilns recovered Brick kilns kilns kilns kilns brick kilns demolished against of with closed without for found for environmental Kilns valid due to valid which operating in violation of compensation consent their consent closure violation of closure own (1-2-3) order closure order orders reasons was and against issued which environmental compensation has been imposed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 330 150 34 146 146 71 0 0
10. That the total number of brick kilns in Moradabad district is 330.
A list of the brick kilns in Moradabad District is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 5.
11. That out of the 330 brick kilns mentioned above, closure orders have been issued against 146 brick kilns (including 71 defaulter brick kilns) by UPPCB under Section 31A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, which are presently in force.
12. That Environmental Compensation has been imposed as per rules against a total of 71 brick kilns found operating in violation of closure order issued to them by the State Board. A list of 71 brickkilns in Moradabad district found operating in violation of closure order and against which environmental compensation has been imposed is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 6.
13. That in compliance with the order dated 20.01.2025, the State Board had earlier ensured the closure of the said 71 defaulter brick kilns. Further, in the months of February-March, 2025, the said 71 brick kilns were inspected along with the District Administration and the closure was verified again, in relation to which the report of the action taken by the District Administration and Pollution Control Board was filed by the DM Moradabad before this Hon'ble Tribunal through dated 04.04.2025.
14. That the status with regard to district Sambhal is as follows:
Total No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of defaulter No. of brick Amount No. Brick brick brick brick brick kilns kilns recovered Brick kilns kilns kilns kilns found demolished against 3 of with closed without for operating in for environmental Kilns valid due to valid which violation of violation of compensation consent their consent closure closure order closure own (1-2-3) order and against orders reasons was which issued environmental compensation has been imposed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 418 200 10 208 208 109 0 0
15. That the total number of brick kilns in Sambhal district is 418. A list of the brick kilns in SambhalDistrict is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 7.
16. That out of the 418 brick kilns mentioned above, closure orders have been issued against 208 brick kilns (including 109 defaulter brick kilns) by UPPCB under Section 31A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, which are presently in force.
17. That Environmental Compensation has been imposed as per rules against a total of 109 brick kilns found operating in violation of closure order issued to them by the State Board. A list of 109 brick kilns in Sambhal district found operating in violation of closure order and against which environmental compensation has been imposed is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 8.
18. That in compliance with the order dated 20.01.2025, the State Board had earlier ensured the closure of the said 109 defaulter brick kilns. Further, in the months of February-March, 2025, the said 109 brick kilns were inspected along with the District Administration and the closure was verified again, in relation to which the report of the action taken by the District Administration and Pollution Control Board was filed by the DM Sambhal before this Hon'ble Tribunal through affidavit dated 04.04.2025.
19. That the status with regard to district Amroha is as follows:
Total No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of brick Amount No. Brick brick brick defaulter kilns recovered Brick kilns kilns kilns brick kilns demolished against of with without for found for environmental Kilns valid valid which operating in violation of compensation consent consent closure violation of closure order closure order orders was and against issued which environmental 4 compensation has been imposed 179 86 93 93 70 0 0
20. That the total number of brick kilns in Amroha district is 179. A list of the brick kilns in Amroha District is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 9.
21. That out of the 179 brick kilns mentioned above, closure orders have been issued against 93 brick kilns (including 70 defaulter brick kilns) by UPPCB under Section 31A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, which are presently in force.
22. That Environmental Compensation has been imposed as per rules against a total of 70 brick kilns found operating in violation of closure order issued to them by the State Board. A list of 70 brick kilns in Amroha district found operating in violation of closure order and against which environmental compensation has been imposed is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 10.
23. That in compliance with the order dated 20.01.2025, the operation of brick kilns operating in the defaulter category has been stopped by the joint committee constituted by letter No. 12/N-47/General- 2025 dated 03.04.2025 of District Magistrate, Amroha and the delivery has been handed over to the concerned police station, district-Amroha, in relation to which the report on the action taken by the District Administration and Pollution Control Board was filed by the DM Amroha before this Hon'ble Tribunal through affidavit dated 05.04.2025.
24. That out of a total of 93 brick kilns operating without consent, 22 brick kilns were inspected by the Regional Office of UPPCB on 16.06.2025, 17.06.2025 and 02.07.2025. On the date of inspection, the operation of all the said brick kilns was found to be closed. A true copy of the inspection reports with photographs is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 11.
25. That at present, due to the ongoing off season/ monsoon season, all brick kilns in the districts of Rampur, Moradabad, Sambhal and Amroha are non- operational.
26. That the brick kiln owners against whom environmental compensation was imposed by UPPCB had approached the Hon'ble 5 High Surt of Allahabad at Allahabadas well as the Lucknow Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad, challenging the same. The recovery of EC has been stayed by the Hon'ble High Court in all the cases. A true copy of one such stay order passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad in WRIT-C No. 3876 of 2024 is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No.12.
27. That it is submitted that the State Pollution Control Board issues closure orders under Section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Section 31A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The enforcement of closure orders is done by the District Administration with the assistance of the police, since there is a possibility of a law-and-order situation at the time of enforcement of closure orders. Notably, Section 55 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 places a duty upon all local authorities to render such help and assistance to the State Pollution Control Board as it may require for the discharge of its functions.
28. That furthermore, Government Order dated 19.05.2023 was issued by the State of U.P. to all Police Commissioners/ Senior Superintendents of Police/ Superintendents of Police and all District Magistrates regarding steps to control air pollution caused by the illegal operation of brick kilns in the state. It was directed that no licence ought to be granted by the District Panchayat/concerned District Administration in respect of blasting of a kiln or for mining lease unless a valid prior consent (No Objection Certificate) issued by the State Pollution Control Board has been obtained by the brick kiln owner. It was further directed that hat all the departments of the State Government issuing permission/no objection/license for operating brick kilns should not issue further permission/license/no objection to the brick kilns for operation until the brick kiln obtains consent from the State Board and the operation of such brick kilns which do not have valid consent from the UP Pollution Control Board should be prohibited. The District Administrations were directed ensure to timely effective implementation and compliance of the closure orders issued by the UP Pollution Control Board. A true copy of the Government Order dated 19.05.2023 issued by the State of U.P. is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 13.
629. That Government Order dated 15.03.2021 had been issued by the State of U.P. directing all DMs/ SSP/ SPs to ensure enforcement of all closure orders issued by UPPCB against illegally operating brick kilns. The District Authorities were also directed to ensure that no permission/license/no objection was granted to the brickkilns without verification. This was reiterated in the Government Order dated 08.07.2021. A true copy of the Government Order dated 15.03.2021 issued by the State of U.P. is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 14.A true copy of the Government Order dated 08.07.2021 issued by the State of U.P. is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 15.
30. That the Regional Office of UPPCB had written to the District Mining Officer, Amroha, the Additional Chief Officer, District Panchayat, Amroha and the Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Tax Department, Amroha vide letters dated 05.07.2025 and 09.04.2025 to ensure that registration/mining permit/license should not be issued to the defaulter brick kilns who have not obtained consent from the State Board, and if registration/mining permit/license had been issued to the said defaulter brick kilns earlier, then the same may be cancelled/ revoked. A true copy of the letter dated 05.07.2025 is annexed hereto and marked asAnnexure No. 16.A true copy of the letter dated 09.04.2025 is annexed hereto and marked as Annexure No. 17."
5. Above report clearly reveals that out of 418 brick kilns in Sambhal District, 208 brick kilns were operating without consent against which closure orders were issued and in violation of closure order 109 brick kilns were operating against which Environmental Compensation (EC) was imposed. Similarly, in Amroha District, out of 179 total brick kilns,93 brick kilns were operating without valid consent against which closure orders were issued and in violation of the closure orders, 70 brick kilns have continued to operate, therefore, EC was imposed against them. In respect of Rampur District, out of 213 total brick kilns, 54 brick kilns were found to be operated without consent against which closure orders were passed and in violation of these closure orders, 26 brick kilns had continued to 7 operate, therefore, EC was imposed upon them. Similarly, in Moradabad District out of 330 total brick kilns, 146 brick kilns were operating without consent against which closure orders were passed and 71 brick kilns have continued to operate in violation of the closure order, therefore, EC was imposed upon them.
6. Above report further reveals that these brick kilns are presently non-
operational being off-season/monsoon season. It also discloses that EC imposed upon these brick kilns has been stayed by High Court of Allahabad as well as Lucknow Bench. It is not in dispute that closure orders are operating.
7. In view of the above report of the UPPCB, OA is disposed of directing the UPPCB to conduct the spot inspection of all the brick kilns in these four districts once the operational season of the brick kilns starts. If any of the brick kilns against whom closure order is in operation is found functional then necessary steps will be taken by UPPCB with the assistance of the concerned agencies to demolish the said brick kiln and seize the equipment and material after following due procedure of law. UPPCB will also ensure that brick kilns which have valid permissions operate by due compliance of the consent conditions and by following the environmental norms. Once issue of imposition of EC is decided by High Court of Allahabad and Lucknow Bench, UPPCB will take expeditious steps to recover the EC, if any, in accordance with High Court's order.
8. OA is accordingly disposed of.
Prakash Shrivastava, CP Dr. A. Senthil Vel, EM July 11, 2025 Original Application No. 889/2022 JG.
8