The Urban Life of Bricks
Uttar Pradesh has seen an increase in the number of brick kilns since 2016 that are concentrated equally in the eastern and western parts of the state. However, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment in 1996 that banned the use of coke or coal in a large number of polluting industries within the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), including brick kilns. The court’s decision was based on the recognition that emissions from these industries were contributing to the deterioration of the Taj Mahal and other monuments in the area. As a result many brick kilns shifted to Surir in the west of Uttar Pradesh, bringing with them an ever growing population of seasonal workers.
Brick Mandis
While TTZ regulations have prohibited brick manufacturing in and around the cities of Mathura and Agra, the demand for bricks for construction in the area has only increased, leading to the emergence of exclusive brick markets or mandis. These brick mandis obtain their supply of bricks from Mant and Chata tehsils, which are located just outside the TTZ boundary and are part of the Mathura district. Additionally, bricks are sourced from Bharatpur in Rajasthan and Hodal in Palwal, Haryana.
In the city of Mathura, there are exclusive brick markets or mandis that operate 24/7 and have a capacity of one hundred tractors of bricks for sale at any given time. The supply chain for these bricks involves only one intermediary from the point of production in the kilns to the point of direct sale to the end user through the mandi. Farmers and villagers who live near the brick kilns are identified as the primary intermediaries who buy bricks from the kilns, transport them to the mandis using their tractor-trolleys, and directly sell them to end customers. Farmers who own tractor-trolleys consider this as a good source of additional income.
According to the Brick Kiln Association of Mathura, the mandi is the biggest buyer of bricks, followed by real estate developers and government agencies. The mandi caters only to the local market and attracts buyers who cannot afford high prices. However, big players directly purchase large volumes of bricks at lower rates, which keeps the overall prices very low.
Sources
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Labour Market Dynamics & Industrial Relations in Brick Kiln Industry →