Despite CAQM coal ban, over 70 per cent of brick kilns in Delhi-NCR continued using coal in 2025-26, finds CSE survey

•  New report finds widespread non-compliance, weak enforcement, poor transition support and limited adoption of cleaner fuels across the brick-making sector.

Free download of the CSE report. 

New Delhi, June 2026: A new survey report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found that the brick-making sector in Delhi-NCR remains in open, widespread violation of the Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) ban on coal, with no credible enforcement mechanism, no monitoring system, and no transition support from regulatory authorities to the industry. The report, Rules Without Reach: How the Brick-Making Industry Has Fared on CAQM Compliances in Delhi-NCR, is based on two rounds of field surveys covering 128 kilns in 2025 and 152 kilns in 2026 across Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Shamli, Jhajjar, Panipat, and Sonipat, and virtual communications with 60 kiln owners. 

"The brick industry is among the most polluting and least regulated sectors in the country. The CAQM coal ban was a necessary step, but a direction without a transition strategy is unlikely to change behaviour on the ground. The sector needs technical guidance, financial support, and institutional hand-holding. None of that was provided, and the survey results reflect exactly that gap," says Subhrajit Goswami, Programme Officer, CSE. 

What did the CSE Survey find 

• Despite a clear CAQM prohibition on coal use in NCR brick kilns, about 77 per cent of the 128 kilns surveyed in 2025 were found using coal. In 2026, that figure came down only marginally, to 72 per cent of the 152 kilns surveyed. None of the kilns were using coal as their only fuel; most used it in combination with loose biomass.
• All 128 kilns surveyed in 2025 and all 152 kilns surveyed in 2026 had formally converted from the conventional Fixed Chimney Bull's Trench Kiln (FCBTK) to Zig-Zag technology, as mandated. But conversion on paper has not meant conversion in practice.
• Around 70 per cent of evaluated kilns had cracks, broken walls, or poor-quality plastering. In a Zig-Zag kiln, structural integrity is essential, cold air leaks through any opening, heat escapes, and fuel consumption rises. Approximately 50 per cent of the total heat supplied to a brick kiln is already lost through surfaces under normal conditions.
• The Supreme Court-mandated four-month operating window has created a perverse incentive: to maximise production within the permitted period, many kiln owners have unilaterally expanded their trench widths well beyond the dimensions specified in their Consent to Operate (CTO). In Uttar Pradesh, where kilns are typically licensed to produce 20,000 to 25,000 bricks per day, the prescribed trench width is in the range of 20 to 25 feet. The survey found trench widths of 40 to 50 feet in several kilns, roughly double the permitted norm, in clear violation of their CTOs, and without any communication to State Pollution Control Boards. Since these modifications were made without technical guidance, they have resulted in a direct doubling of fuel consumption alongside the doubling of production.
• In 2025, no green cover was observed in 105 of the 128 surveyed kilns, about 82 per cent. In 2026, 118 of 152 kilns, or about 78 per cent, had no green cover at all. Only two kilns out of 152 had sufficient plantation on their premises.
• While all surveyed kilns in both years had the required monitoring infrastructure, portholes, ladders, and platforms, only about 36 per cent had monitoring platforms that could be considered safe for conducting emission checks in 2025. In 2026, that figure rose to about 40 per cent, or 61 of 152 kilns. The basic infrastructure is present; the capacity to use it is not.
• Brick kilns were found operating in close proximity to schools in Bulandshahr and Panipat, a siting concern that persisted across both rounds of the survey. Poor internal road conditions were documented as a significant source of fugitive dust during the transportation of green bricks, and were prevalent throughout the interiors of all surveyed districts.
• Of the 60 kiln owners who participated in the survey, not one had received any formal communication from CAQM or the relevant State Pollution Control Boards regarding the coal ban. Forty per cent learned about it through media; the remaining 60 per cent found out through union meetings or WhatsApp groups. No technical sessions were organised by any regulatory authority to explain transition pathways or alternative fuels. No financial support was provided for the shift. The ban was issued without a transition strategy, and without one, it has largely remained on paper. 

Why the Transition Has Not Happened 

The quality and price of a brick depends on how well it is fired, and reaching the required temperature consistently using biomass alone is not straightforward. The core issue comes down to quality and economics. Kiln owners consistently maintained that coal is essential for producing good quality bricks, as biomass does not have the same calorific value, coal typically offers 4,000 to 6,000 kcal/kg, while most crop residues provide only 3,000 to 4,000 kcal/kg. Most owners said a blend of at least 20 to 30 per cent coal with 70 to 80 per cent biomass is the minimum needed to maintain product quality. Going to zero coal, as the mandate requires, is something the sector is not technically ready for, and the research needed to get it there has not been done at the scale required. 

There is also a competitive disadvantage built into how the mandate is currently structured. It applies only to NCR, whereas brick kiln outside the NCR boundary can use coal freely, fire bricks to a higher quality, and sell them at a better price. 

Recommendations 

The shift to cleaner fuels involves system-level modifications that require specialised technical knowledge. Regulatory authorities must identify sector experts to develop standard operating procedures for fuel transition and fuel-feeding mechanisms, and formally engage institutions such as CBRI Roorkee and the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology. Punjab offers a model worth following: the state undertook R&D on partially replacing coal with paddy straw pellets before issuing a mandate, made compliance with the CSIR-CBRI kiln design mandatory for any Consent to Operate, and built a system of hands-on support that has since attracted interest from Nepal and other states, with inter-governmental bodies like ICIMOD exploring replication across South Asia. The combination of research, regulation, and institutional hand-holding is exactly what the NCR needs. 

The Supreme Court-mandated four-month window cannot be a long-term solution. On the ground, fuel-use and production volumes go largely unchecked within those four months. The short season also creates a labour problem. Workers cannot depend on four months of employment and move on to other jobs once the season ends, making any sustained effort on labour welfare nearly impossible. Weather uncertainty adds further pressure, early monsoons cut into the window, and reheating kilns after an unexpected break consumes additional fuel. Kilns that have invested in clean technology and adequate infrastructure should be considered for year-round operation, excluding winter, to make the economics of compliance viable and create a real incentive to upgrade. 

Alongside, PCB regional offices are already stretched across multiple industries, and brick is one of the few sectors with no continuous air quality monitoring. Building PCB field capacity and enabling remote compliance tracking are essential. Quality standards for briquettes and pellets must also be established and enforced, and public procurement preferences for bricks manufactured with cleaner fuels would help generate the market demand that makes compliance economically rational.

“India's demand for building materials will continue to grow. What the brick sector needs is not just restrictions; red bricks need clear benchmarks. The larger goal should be to define what a well-run brick kiln looks like—one that operates year-round with effective pollution controls, provides stable employment for workers, and remains economically viable,” Nivit Kumar Yadav, Programme Director, Sustainable Industrialisation and Renewable Energy unit, CSE. 

Yadav adds: “The country needs a National Brick Mission with a clear policy roadmap for the sector, driven from the highest levels of government, along with blended finance opportunities for entrepreneurs. Achieving this will require coordinated action by regulators, researchers, industry, and civil society".  

For more information, interviews etc, please contact Sukanya Nair of The CSE Media Resource Centre: sukanya.nair@cseindia.org, 8816818864