Part 2: Lack of determination in directing the elimination of manual brick kilns

Nam Dan is a district with a large number of manual brick kilns (40 kilns) and is also the locality with the most positive moves in eliminating manual brick kilns. Implementing the province's policy, the District People's Committee has established a Steering Committee and issued Directive No. 04/2010/CT-UBND on eliminating manual brick kilns in the area. Along with reviewing the current situation of brick production in the area, the district has also strengthened propaganda work, signed commitments, and taken resolute measures, including enforcement, against brick kiln owners who lack a spirit of cooperation. On the one hand, to meet the demand for bricks in the local market and ensure output after eliminating manual brick kilns, Nam Dan has also created conditions to attract a number of tunnel brick production projects to come into operation, such as: Nam Thai tunnel brick factory; Xuan Hoa tunnel brick factory, Ru Bui tunnel brick factory... Mr. Le Khanh Hoa - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, affirmed: "Up to this point, 40/40 manual brick kilns in the district have stopped operating. The elimination of manual brick kilns has affected the jobs and income of a certain number of workers. Therefore, the district has focused on solutions to convert the purpose of use, creating conditions for kiln owners to continue to receive land contracts to develop farm economy or invest in brick production lines using modern technology, so most of the kiln owners and workers who used to work in the previous brick kilns have quickly found their own direction and stabilized their lives".

Nghi Hoa Commune (Nghi Loc) is also a unit with many manual brick kilns, at the peak time up to 18 kilns were operating. Fully aware of the negative impacts of manual brick kilns and through many times of resolving people's petitions, when there was a policy from the province and district, the commune took drastic action to eliminate these brick kilns. The commune will not continue to sign any brick kilns whose land lease contracts have expired. At the same time, it will orient the planning and continue to create conditions for brick kiln owners to receive back the areas to develop livestock, farms and aquaculture. Mr. Nguyen Van Huong - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: "Although the district has assigned the local budget revenue target from construction material exploitation in 2011 of 80 million VND, the commune is still determined to completely resolve the issue of manual brick kilns. Up to this point, there are still 4 kilns operating in the commune, but the commune has worked with 4 kiln owners to terminate their operations, of which 2 kilns will hand over the premises to the locality by the end of July and the remaining 2 kilns by the end of October 2011".

However, there are still many localities that are not resolute. For example, Tan Ky district - an area with a relatively large number of manual brick and tile kilns with nearly 180 kilns in operation, in which the focus is Cua tile village with 137 kilns, followed by Tan Long, Nghia Dong, Ky Son communes. Due to the lack of determination and drastic direction, the work and solutions to completely eliminate manual brick kilns have not received real attention from the district. For example, Cua tile village, although there has been an orientation to convert production to a model of applying scientific and technical advances to produce in the direction of high quality, up to now everything has only stopped at the approval of the project. Meanwhile, the roadmap set by the district is to completely eliminate manual brick kilns in the area by 2012. If in the coming time, Tan Ky does not direct more drastically, it will be difficult to implement.

Do Luong is also one of the localities that has been slow in implementing the policy of eliminating manual brick kilns. It is said that the communes themselves sign contracts to lease land for manual brick production, but the district still assigns the communes to collect budget from this source. At the same time, the district still plans to develop construction materials in areas where many manual brick kilns are concentrated in communes such as Minh Son and Nhan Son. This is no different from continuing to maintain manual brick kilns.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Do - Head of Construction Materials Management Department, Department of Construction, said: "According to incomplete statistics, the whole province currently has about more than 300 manual brick kilns. The focus is on the districts: Tan Ky, Quynh Luu, Do Luong, Nghi Loc, Nghia Dan, Thai Hoa... In the past, except for a few active units, the elimination of manual brick kilns in most localities has only stopped at reviewing and counting the number of manual brick kilns in the area; organizing propaganda and disseminating the policies of the Government and the province to communes and kiln owners to proactively have conversion plans. Therefore, authorities at all levels need to get involved and have more drastic solutions in eliminating manual brick kilns that pollute the environment".

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