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Task Force - An Innovative
Policy Influencing Platform C onstruction sector has contributed to the miraculous growth of Bihars economy and has increased the demand for bricks substantially. Unfortunately, the brick sector in Bihar is dominated by approximately 6000 resource and
energy inefficient Fixed Chimney Kilns (FCKs). These units consume
around 2-4 million tonnes of coal annually, emitting 4-6 million tonnes
of carbon dioxide (CO2)
every year1.
Brick production also uses around 30 million m3
of fertile top soil every year.
Task Force on Clean Building Materials - An Innovative Idea Development Alternatives (DA) supported by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation has engaged with the Bihar state government to create a favourable policy environment to promote cleaner brick production technologies. In order to streamline the efforts of various government departments, an idea to set up a permanent Task Force was initiated by DA in January 2012. After discussions with the Bihar State Pollution Control Board and the Department of Environment and Forests, an Inter Departmental Task Force (TF) on Accelerating Cleaner Production Systems in the Building Materials Sector in Bihar was set up in June 2012. Mandate of the TF is to recommend, monitor and advise on use of low carbon technologies and building materials in Bihar, to ensure savings of coal and soil and reduce pollution from the operation of existing brick kilns. DA provides technical and secretarial support to the TF. |
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Task Force at
a Glance |
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Focus Areas of the Task Force Over the last two years, the TF has emerged as a decision making venue where policy ideas are discussed and vetted. They are then forwarded to the concerned departments for further action. Focus areas of the TF are: Revision of rates of fly ash bricks in the state Schedule of Rates (SoR) Inclusion of fly ash brick production technology in the thrust area of Bihar Industrial Incentive Policy 2011 Amendment of mining royalty structure on the basis of production capacity and soil use of different brick production technologies Relaxation in the citing criteria of brick kilns of clean brick production systems owing to low pollution levels of these technologies The policy interventions and awareness generation activities have garnered immense interest among the entrepreneurs and have increased the number of fly ash units from 1 to approximately 25. It is envisioned that over the next one year, these units alone will lead to: 37.5 million eco-bricks produced annually 12,500 eco-houses constructed annually 400 green jobs created 112,500 tonnes of soil saved annually 28800 tonnes of CO2 emissions prevented annually 67,500 tonnes of waste utilised annually INR 625 lakhs leveraged One of the main achievements of the Task Force has been the revision of rates of fly ash bricks in the state Schedule of Rates (SoR). Urged by the TF, the rate of cement fly ash bricks was revised from Rs. 4952 to Rs. 5606 per 1000 bricks. This is likely to encourage entrepreneurs to adopt fly ash technology. The Task Force has played a crucial role in creating this ripple effect across the state and is an excellent example of multi-stakeholder evidence based decision making at the state level. q D Varsha Endnotes |