brick kiln info paper

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Habitat International 29 (2005) 591–602

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Impact of brick kilns on land use/landcover changesaround Aligarh city, India

Abha Lakshmi Singh�, Md. Sarfaraz Asgher

Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India

Received 10 September 2003; received in revised form 3 January 2004; accepted 1 April 2004

Abstract

Bricks are one of the most important building materials used in India. The Indian brick kiln industry,which is the second largest producer in the world, second only to China, has more than 100,00 operatingunits, producing about 140 billion bricks annually. Brick making is a traditional, unorganized industrygenerally confined to rural and peri-urban areas. The Gangetic plain of North India accounts for about65% of the total brick production. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are the majorbrick producing states in this region. The availability of good fertile alluvium soils in North India makes thefringe areas of North Indian cities be dotted with brick kilns and consequently this has become one of themajor forces in bringing about land use/landcover changes around cities. In this paper, an attempt has beenmade to examine the impact of brick kilns on the landuse/landcover changes, and to evaluate the forces,which have compelled the villagers to bring about these changes around a North Indian city of Aligarh.r 2004 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

Keywords: Brick kilns; Land use; Cultivated land; Land under non-agricultural use

1. Introduction

Land is finite and fixed in a place. But land use is subject to control by people whosenumbers are not fixed and who have many needs and who move easily. To increase an area of

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A.L. Singh, M. Sarfaraz Asgher / Habitat International 29 (2005) 591–602592

one land use, one has to encroach upon another land use. Thus, land use/landcover changesto meet the variable demands of the land by the society in its new ways and condition of life.The demand for new uses of land may be inspired by a technological change or by a changein the size, composition and requirements of a community. Some changes are short-livedwhereas others represent a constant demand. In recent years, human activities have beenrecognized to be the major force in bringing about changes in the land use pattern. Understandingthese land use changes and the forces which compels man to bring these changes is crucialin understanding, modeling, predicting and managing the local, regional as well as global landuse patterns.The fast rate of urban development has made many changes in the land use patterns around

cities. Effects of growing urbanization are being felt in both developed and developing countries.However, in developing countries urbanization has been growing at a much faster rate andconsequently there is a proportionate change in land use. In 1950, the percentage of totalpopulation living in urban areas was only 17, in 1970 it reached to 25.4% and by 2000, it rose to41%. By 2000 and 2025, there will be doubling of urban population in developing countries (Hall& Pfeiffer, 2000). There has been a substantial growth of urban population in the Third Worldcities over the last decade and it is more shrinking in the poorest countries where the urbanpopulation is increasing by 5% per annum. The built up area in developing countries between1980 and 2000 has increased by 118% (United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS)1996; World Bank, 1997).Although India is a rural country but there is a definite urban orientation. The scale of urban

development is quite alarming. The urban population of India was 25.7% of the total in 1991,which increased to 27.8% in 2001. The overall urban population increased from 217 millions in1991 to 285 millions in 2001. The numbers of towns and cities have increased from 4689 to 5161between 1991 and 2001 (Census of India, 1991–2001). The rapid growth of urbanization indicatesthat pressure on land for non-agricultural activities is increasing. The loss of agricultural land isfar more serious in India. Between, 1955 and 1985, about 1.5 million ha of agricultural land andbetween 1985–2000 about 800,000 ha of agricultural land went to urban growth (Ramachandran,2001). With rapid urbanization combined with continuing population growth both agriculturaland social scientists have long expressed a concern as to whether India will be able to feed herteeming millions.Cities demands a high input of resources such as food grains, vegetables, milk, fuel wood,

timber, cow dung cake, straw, green fodder, water, soil and bricks. The more populous the city thegreater is the demand on resources and in general the larger the area from which it is drawn(Hardoy, Mitlin, Satterthwaite, 1992). The expanding urban area with fast increase in populationimplies an increasing demand for residential, commercial, industrial and public buildings andother physical infrastructure. Thus, the physical structure of the city requires large amount ofconstruction material and the bulk of material is derived from locally available clay, soil, sand andgravel. This can be seen from the brick kilns, soil quarrying, clay–sand–gravel pits around most ofthe cities. Bricks are one of the most important building materials used in India. Baked bricks areproduced in India. The Indian brick industry, which is the second largest producer in the worldnext only to China. India has more than 100,000 operating units producing about 140 billionbricks annually. The industry has annual turn over of more than Rs.140 billion (Rs. 47 = US$1).Brick making is a traditional, unorganized industry generally confined to the rural and peri-urban

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A.L. Singh, M. Sarfaraz Asgher / Habitat International 29 (2005) 591–602 593

areas. Brick industry in the Gangetic plain differs from the brick industry in peninsular andcoastal India.The Gangetic plains of North India accounts for about 65% of the total brick production.

Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are the major brick producing states inthis region. Brick kilns (approximately 30,000 BTKs) generally of medium and large productioncapacities (2–10 million bricks per year) are located in clusters around major towns and cities.Coal is the main fuel used for firing bricks. The peninsular and coastal India accounts for the restof 35% of the brick production. In this region bricks are produced in numerous small unit(production capacities generally range from 0.1 to 3 million bricks per year). Gujarat, Orissa,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are important brick producing states inpeninsular plateau and coastal India. Clamps and moving chimney BTKs are employed for firingbricks in this region. Apart from coal, a variety of biomass fuels such as firewood, dry dung, ricehusk are used for firing bricks. The availability of good fertile alluvium soils in North India makesthe fringe areas of North Indian cities be dotted with brick kilns and consequently this has becomeone of the major force in bringing about land use/ landcover changes around cities.Brick kiln industry of India fulfills the demand of growing urbanization and rapidly increasing

urban population. The demand of bricks will keep on increasing and this will attract the brick kilnowners to set up more brick kilns in the vicinity of the cities. This will consequently lead to landuse/landcover changes around most of the cities of India. Keeping these aspects in mind thisresearch topic was chosen and Aligarh city (India) was chosen as the study area. In this paper, anattempt has been made to locate the brick kilns, to examine the process of brick manufacture, toassess the land use/landcover changes and to evaluate the forces which have compelled thevillagers to bring about these changes around Aligarh city during the last 20 years.

2. Data base and methodology

The study is based on remotely sensed data (satellite imageries) and field surveys. Primary datawere collected through field surveys—survey of brick kilns and villages having brick kilns. Datawere collected regarding (i) the number of brick kilns, process of manufacture of bricks (ii) landuse/ landcover changes in the villages having brick kilns and (iii) forces which have compelled thevillagers to bring about these changes. The fieldwork was done during the years 2001–2002. Forgetting accurate information all the villages having brick kilns were visited frequently. Secondarydata have been collected from village land use records.The following methods were used in this study:

(i)
To locate the brick kilns lying around Aligarh city, a simple procedure was adopted todemarcate the fringe area. A circle with radius of 20 km was drawn from the city center todemarcate its fringe. Since this is a medium sized city located in the shadow of the nationalcapital New Delhi, the fringe area is not a large one.
(ii)
The distribution of brick kilns around Aligarh city (Fig. 2) was mapped with the help of(a) Field surveys.(b) Satellite imagery IRS ID on 1:50,000 scale, acquired in 2001.(c) Topographic sheet numbers 53 H/16, 53 L/4, 54E/13, 54 I/1, 54 I/5, 54 E/14 and 54 I/2.

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Fig. 1. Location of Aligarh City.


(iii)
The sample design consisted of:(a) A selection of sample villages: The selection of villages was a purposeful one. All the 59
villages having 93 brick kilns within the 20 km radius from the city center were selectedand sampled.

(b) A selection of households: Within each sample village a sample of 20 households(10 households of villagers and 10 households of workers working in the brick kilns) wereselected using a stratified random sampling procedure. The total sample size then workedout to be (59 villages� 20 households) 1180.

(c) The selected respondents (usually the head of the family or the main income earner) werethan personally interviewed. While constructing the interview schedule the objectives ofthe study were kept in mind. Questions regarding the locations of brick kilns, theirperception of brick kilns, effects of brick kilns on environment/land/economic benefits/health/overall development factors (farmers/workers/ transporters/brick kiln ownersprofit), which have compelled the villagers to bring about land use/landcover changes anda shift from agricultural to non-agricultural activities, were formulated. In all 1180interviews were completed.

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Fig. 2. Location of Brick Kilns around Aligarh City-2000–01.


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3. The urban setting

Aligarh is a medium sized city of North India. It is located (27 1 530 north latitude and 78 1 40

east longitude) in the western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in the fertile tract of Gangaticplain. It is about 130 km away from the country’s capital New Delhi (Fig. 1). Until the 1950s, thecity evoked images of a semi-pastoral town but today’s Aligarh has developed tremendously in allspheres. From 1970 to the present, the city’s area has increased more than doubled (from 33.45 to68.97 km2), eating into the surrounding agricultural land and absorbing more than 30 villages.The city’s population has increased more than three times (from 252,314 to 767,732). This has ledto an increase in the number of residential, educational, hospital, public utility, commercial, smallscale and large-scale industrial buildings. Recently the roads and most of the by lanes have allbeen cemented, four overhead bridges and many multistoried apartments have been constructed.All this requires huge quantities of construction material especially bricks, which comes fromnearby areas.

4. Location of brick kilns around Aligarh city

To locate the brick kilns lying around the city, a field survey was conducted. It was observedthat the bulky material like bricks usually comes from nearby areas because of the transportationcosts. Field surveys revealed that the countryside is dotted with brick kilns and most of the brickkilns are located along the main roads (Fig. 2, Table 1). There are 93 brick kilns (74 in workingconditions and 19 were abandoned) located in 59 villages lying within the 20 km radius around thecity. A perusal of Table 1 shows that most of the working brick kilns (34%) are concentrated inZone-III (8.01–12 km distance) because this zone is neither too close to the city nor too far away.The transportation cost of bricks from this zone is not much. Zone-II (lying within an 8 kmradius) has the least number of brick kilns (only 14%). This shows that with the expansion of thecity, brick kilns have been shifted towards the outskirts. Zone-IV (12.1–16 km) has 27% andZone-V (16.1–20 km) has 25% of the working brick kilns. This shows that as one proceeds awayfrom the city, the number of brick kilns declines. Interviews with brick kiln owners revealed thatthe location of brick kilns depends upon the availability of good fertile alluvial soils, accessibilityto market, nearness to the urban areas and demand of bricks.

5. Process of manufacture of bricks

Brick kiln owners reported that land was required for the establishment of a brick kiln butfarmers do not prefer to give their land on lease for the establishment of brick kilns because of thelong lease period (7–10 years) and after the lease period is over the brick kiln owner returns backto the farmer a fully degraded, unleveled and un-reclaimed land, which cannot be used forcultivation. So either it is left as a wasteland or brought under non-agricultural uses. The brickkiln owner has no alternative but to purchase land and establish a brick kiln on his own land.Changes in land use from agriculture uses to non-agricultural uses were observed. Land, whichwas once under cultivation, is now under brick kilns.

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Table 1

Location of brick kilns around Aligarh city (2000–2001)

Zones/

distance (km)

Village-wise location of brick kilns Total no. of

brick kilns

Abandoned Working

II 4.01–8 3 Kirahraw, Aasni, Bhadesi 10 Bhadesi (2), Laushara, Hardaspur,

Bajidpur Nada (2), Bhujpura, Kheria,

Hajipur Chauhatta, Mukandpur

13

III 8.01–12 7 Dhorra Palan, Ghasipur,

Alhedadpur, Talaspur, Baria Nagla,

Bairamgarhi(2)

25 Bhankri (2), Lodha (2), Baria Nagla

(3), Mainath (2), Ghasipur (2), Palaisi,

Ahmadpur (3), Chandaukha, Jatpura,

Bhimgarhi, Bairamgarhi, Hazipur,

Bhura Kishangarhi, Madrak Kotia,

Sandalpur, Dhora Palan, Singharpur

32

IV 12.01–16 7 Gwalra, Barotha (2), Hakimgarhi,

Sisroi, Nagla Moni, Madrak.

19 Pala (2), Sisroi (2), Pali (2), Shahpur

Madrak (2), Nagla Misria (2), Ukhlana,

Sadhu Ashram, Barotha, Madrak,

Makhdumpur, Hastpur, Kareka,

Jaitholi, Nagla Moni

26

V 16.01–20 2 Bajhera, Rohina 20 Chaudhana (3), Nanou (3),

Kalyanpur Rane (4), Ogar Nagla Rajoo,

Hasanpur, Rohera, Tejpur, Satlapur,

Sahara (2), Karahla Gorba, Kaska,

Shyam Nagri.

22

Total 4.01–20 19 74 93

Note: 0–4 km is under the Aligarh municipality. Previously there were brick kilns here but now with the expansion of

the city they have been pushed out.

Source: Based on field survey (2000–2001).


For making of raw bricks good quality fertile alluvium soils are required usually clay soils arepreferred. Best quality bricks are produced from best quality fertile soils. The availability of goodfertile alluvium soils in North India especially in the Gangatic plains, make the fringe areas innorth Indian cities be dotted with brick kilns. The brick kiln owner gets on lease the surroundingagricultural land for soil quarrying. Farmer’s prefer to give away their land for soil quarryingbecause of the short lease period (3–4 years) and quick money, which they get in return. The landafter soil quarrying becomes fully impoverished and degraded. Soil quarrying removes about4–5 ft of top fertile soil. So after 4 years, the land which was once a good agricultural land nowbecome degraded ditch, usually 4 ft deep and about 2–4 ha in area. Again transformation of landis observed. Good fertile land once under crops is now under non-agricultural uses.It was observed that one brick consumes 0.003m3 of fertile soil. On average over a year at one

brick kiln, 4–5 rotations takes place. In one rotation, 1 million bricks are produced from 4ha ofland, which requires a depth of 4 ft of soil. Thus, on average, one brick kiln produces 4 millionbricks and consumes 12,000m3 of topsoil per year. Soil is quarried on the leased land, raw bricksare moulded there by hand and afterwards they are transported to the nearby brick kilns for beingbaked. For baking bricks, coal, firewood, dry dung and sometimes vehicle tyres or whatever is

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available is burnt. Country clamps, bull trench kilns (with movable chimney), bull trench kilns(with fixed chimney), and vertical shaft brick kilns (VSBK) chimneys are used.The very process of establishment of brick kilns and manufacture of bricks not only degrades

the good agricultural land but also brings changes in the land use/landcover in the villages wherethey are located.

6. Land use/landcover changes in the villages having brick kilns

Around the cities landuse/landcover changes are more complex and dynamic than the usualchanges occurring in the countryside. Due to city’s growth both in area and population, thedemands for bricks have increased and it will keep on increasing. This is a continuousphenomenon and its rate is stimulated by the centrifugal forces of the city and its influence in theregion. Table 2 shows the zone-wise and village-wise land use/landcover changes due to brick kilnsaround Aligarh city (1981–2001).Land use/landcover changes in the 59 villages where the 93 brick kilns are located shows that

during the last twenty years the cultivated area has decreased (�8.9%) and the area under non-agricultural activities (49.2%) and culturable wastelands (16.1%) have increased. This shows thatland, which was once under agricultural uses, have shifted to non-agricultural uses. Rapid growthof urbanization indicates that the pressure on land for non-agricultural activities is increasing.Zone-wise analysis shows the same trend, as can be seen in Table 2.A perusal of Table 2 shows that Zone-III recorded maximum decrease in cultivated area

(�13.5%) followed by Zone-II (�9.0%), Zone-IV (�6.8%) and Zone-V (�5.6%). The maximumshift of area from agricultural to non-agricultural activities was recorded in Zone-III (79.3%)followed by Zone-IV (44.4%), Zone-II (33.7%) and Zone-V (27.4%). The maximum increase inarea under culturable wasteland was recorded in Zone-II (28.8%) followed by Zone-III (26.4%),Zone-V (15.3%) and Zone-IV (4.0%). This shows that most of the changes in land use/landcoverwas recorded in Zones-III and II, which lies within 12 km radius from the city center. Thesechanges have been made to meet the variable demands of the land by the society.

7. Causes of change in villages

The information in Table 3 is based on questionnaire interviews. The respondents were thevillagers from the 59 sampled villages, brick kiln owners and workers working in the 93 brick kilnslocated in these villages. It was observed that most of the villagers (78.2%) were happy with thebrick kilns because they were being benefited from it. They were getting quick money from leasingout their land for soil quarrying. They were getting benefits from employment in the brick kilns,transportation of bricks from the quarrying site to the kilns for being baked, and transportationof bricks from the kilns to the demand site i.e. usually to the city. The brick kiln owners are gettinghuge benefits in this business.Field investigation revealed that although agriculture is the basic activity in which most of the

villagers are participating even today, still a shift in land use pattern from agricultural uses to non-agricultural uses is seen, as is a shift in occupation from farming to non-farming activities. Many

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Table 2

Zone-wise and village-wise land use/landcover changes around Aligarh city (1981–2001)

Zones/distance

(km)

No. of

brick kilns

No. of

villages

Total area (ha) Net cultivated area

(ha)

Land put to non-

agricultural use (ha)

Culturable wasteland

(ha)

1981 2001 1981 2001 1981 2001 1981 2001

II 4.01–8 13 10 2443.54 2436.74 1931.01 1758.96 356.93 477.34 155.6 200.44

% Change — �28 — �8.9 — 33.7 — 28.8

III 8.01–12 32 19 4801.81 5488.28 3762.06 3804.18 698.48 1252.68 341.27 431.42

% Change — 14.3 — �13.5 — 79.3 26.4

IV 12.01–16 26 16 5275.57 5295.02 4203.74 3917.56 650.11 939.00 421.72 438.46

% Change — 0.4 — �6.8 — 44.4� — 4.0

V 16.01–20 22 14 4903.33 4907.81 3894.32 3675.28 568.89 724.99 440.12 507.5

% Change — 0.9 — �5.6 — 27.4 — 15.3

Total zoneII–V

4.01–20

93 59 17424.25 18127.85 13833.24 13113.86 2274.41 3394.01 1358.71 1577.86

% Change — 4.0 — �8.9 — 49.2 — 16.1

Source: (a) Based on Field Survey, 2001–2002.(b) Village land use records (1981–2001).

Table 3

People’s perception of brick kilns (in %) around Aligarh city (2000–2001)

Happiness over brick kilns Effects of brick kilns on society

and people

Effects of brick kilns on health and land Role of brick kilns on

overall development

Happy Unhappy Eco. Env. Socially Breathlessness Fly-ash Loss of

land

Loss of

land capability

Positive Negative

78.2 21.8 78.2 21.8 — 17.9 3.6 46.4 32.1 50 50

Source: Based on Field Survey (2000–2001).

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Table 4

Forces, which compelled villagers to bring about landuse/landcover changes and a shift to non-agricultural activities around Aligarh city (2000–2001)

(a) Farmer’s profit from leasing their land for soil quarrying

No. of

working

brick kilns

No. of sampled

villages in

which the brick

kilns are

located

Total land

area leased

(ha)

Rate of

lease

(Rs/ha)

Total profit

for 3 years

(Rs)

Total profit

per annum

(Rs)

79 (0–20 km) 59 213 200,000 4,260,000 14,200,000

(b) Workers profit from the working brick kilns

No. of

working

brick kilns

Male

workers

(no)

Female

workers

(no)

Total

workers

(no)

Average

wage rate

(Rs per day)

Average income

(Rs per day)

Average income

(Rs per annum)

79 (0–20 km) 5336 1355 6691 80–100 535,280–669,100 112,408,800–140,511,000

(c) Vehicle owner’s profit from the transportation of bricks

No. of

working

brick kilns

Mode of

transportation

Capacity of

bricks in pieces

per trip

Average

rate per

trip (Rs)

Total no. of

trips per day

Income per day

(Rs)

Income per annum

(Rs)

79 (0–20 km) Truck 2,500 800 216 172,800 36,288,000

Tractor 1,500 500 300 150,5000 31,500,000

Buggi 500 100 54 5400 1134,000

328,200 68,922,000

(d) Brick kiln owner’s income from the supply of bricks (in pieces) through different mode of transport

No. of

working

brick kilns

Mode of

transport

Capacity of

vehicles

(bricks in

pieces per trip)

No. of trips

per day

Supply of

bricks in

pieces per day

Rate of bricks

per 000 pieces

in (Rs).

Income per day

(in Rs.)

Income per

annum (in Rs.)

79 (0–20 km) Truck 2500 216 540,000 1200 648,000 136,080,000

Tractor 1500 300 450,000 1200 540,000 113,400,000

Buggie 500 54 27,000 1200 32,400 6,804,000

Total 1200 1,220,400 256,284,000

Source: Based on Field Survey (2000–2001).

Note: I US $=Rs.47.

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factors are responsible for this shift. The disintegration in joint family system even in the villageshas led to the change in economic activities. The older generation still wanted to continue withagriculture while the newer generation is not willing to continue with agricultural activities. Theysay it is hard labour with little return. Leasing of land for soil quarrying brings instant cash andmore money than they get from agriculture. After the lease period is over, they are left withbarren, unleveled and unproductive land and a huge capital. What to do? They cannot cultivatethe degraded land. Since they have the money, they themselves becomes brick kiln owners. Someof the villagers get employment as labour contractors, labour supervisors, labourers or truck/tractor/buggy (buffalo-driven cart) drivers. Many of the landless labourers who were previouslyworking in the fields now prefer working in the brick kilns because of higher wages, as shown inTable 4.Nearly 60% of the villagers were of the opinion that brick kilns have brought overall

development to these villages. Roads have improved, transportation facilities have increased,markets have developed and there is a continuous contact with the city. At times it appears thatthe brick kiln industry is a very profitable business. Field investigation revealed that farmers weregetting profits from leasing their land, workers were getting employment in the brick kilns andtransporters were getting employment from transportation of bricks. Finally, the farmers/workers/transporters and the brick kiln owners profited (see Table 3).On the other hand, farmers interested in agriculture (21.8%) were unhappy over the presence of

brick kilns in their villages because of loss of land (46.4%) and loss of land capability (32.1%).Generally villagers also reported breathlessness because of smoke pollution (17.9%), environ-mental loss (21.8%) and problem of fly ash (3.5%).

8. Conclusions

Some of the main findings of the present study are as follows:

�
With the growth of population and urbanization the demand for bricks have increased. Thecity’s demand of bricks is met from close-by areas.
�
For the making of raw bricks, good quality fertile alluvium soils are required. The very processof establishment of brick kilns and manufacture of bricks degrades both land and environmentand forces the farmers to shift their land from agricultural to non-agricultural uses.
�
A shift in land use/landcover changes was observed in villages having brick kilns. Landpreviously used for cultivation is now used for non-agricultural purposes.
�
A shift in occupational pattern was observed. Farmers and agricultural labourers have nowjoined as labour contractors or labour supervisors or labourers or truck/tractor/buggy driversor have become brick kiln owners themselves.
�
Though brick kilns have degraded the rural character of the villages in which they are locatedbut they have brought an overall development and prosperity to these villages.
The Government and the environmentalists have made several attempts to convince not onlythe brick kiln owners but also the farmers about the serious impacts of brick kilns on land andenvironment. Alternative measures have been developed to minimize the utilization of fertileagricultural soils for the manufacture of bricks. Utilization of unsuitable soils like saline/alkali

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soils, red soils, fly ash mixed with inferior quality of clay or fly-ash mixed with sand and lime forthe manufacture of bricks. The Government policies tilted in favour of farmers like goodagricultural prices, subsidies, land use policies etc. would act stimulus for farmers to remain inagriculture. Finally population growth and urbanization cannot be stopped and consequently theland once used for cultivation will be use for non-agricultural activities. There is a need forevolving ways to protect our fertile agricultural lands and to give greater incentives to the farmersto remain in farming activities. There is need for land use planning so that optimal balance isobtained between competing interests.

References

Census of India. (1991, 2001). District Census Handbook, Aligarh, Primary Census Abstract, Part xiii, A and B.

Hall, P., & Pfeiffer, U. (2000). Urban Future, Global Agenda for Twenty-First Century Cities. London: E & FN Spon.

Hardoy, J. E., Mitlin, D., & Satterthwaite, D. (1992). Environmental Problems in Third World Cities. London:

Earthscan.

Ramachandran, R. (2001). Urbanization and Urban Systems in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS, HABITAT) (1996). An Urbanizing World: Global Report on

Human Settlements 1996. NewYork: Oxford University Press.

Village Land Use Records (2001). Aligarh Statistics Office.

World Bank (1997). The State in a Changing World, World Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press.

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