Assam: Brick Kiln owners in Dhubri accused of evading government royalty in Dhubri

Based on existing statistics, the Dhubri district is home to 126 brick kilns within the Dhubri forest division. Of those, 49 in 2019–20, 58 in 2020–21, 55 in 2021–22, and 33 in 2022–23 were unable to pay any revenue or royalty of offences and permits for the land to the forest department.

Allegations have surfaced that most of the brick kiln owners have not submitted the government royalty of offences and permits for the land to the Dhubri forest department, during a period when the smoke from brick kilns in various Dhubri district sites has prompted intense reactions.

The most astounding fact is that an estimated 20 lakh bricks are produced annually by a single brick kiln, 20 lakh bricks are estimated to take 3200 CM of land. As a result, the owner of the brick kiln is required to pay the forest department around Rs 5 lakh a year in order to cover the government royalty for the offence and permit of 3200 CM of land. 

The business owners of the brick kilns manage the forest department and operate a profitable business by avoiding paying taxes to the government, and the majority of the brick kilns in the district only show 500 to 1,500 CM of land. Locals are wondering why a section of brick kilns that avoided paying taxes to the government have not been subject to severe penalties.

However, some of the district's brick kiln owners are allegedly selling bricks illegally by dodging taxes from the government. There are concerns in the public mind regarding how the brick kilns are operating in the district even after a section of brick kiln owners have not deposited government revenue to the forest department, as per accessible documents.

According to the data, SBI Brick Industry based in Basumari, Dhubri, has not submitted any revenue to the Dhubri forest department in four financial years, including 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, such as  Arif Brick Field, Raja Brick factory, Max Brick Field, Siva Brick Industry, Shahjahan Brick Field,  M.B.I. Brick Factory, Iron Brick Field,  Maa Brick Field,  Super Brick Industry, Shyam Brick Field,  ABCD Domarduha,  Raja Brick Industry,  ABF,  Super Brick Field,  SABC Brick Field,  Rahman Brick Field, etc.,
The public is concerned about the reason why the concerned department has permitted the operation of these brick kilns, even though plenty of brick kilns in the district are operating illegally in various locations without depositing government revenue. 

To be more precise, if the owners fail to pay the government revenue to the forest department, the brick kilns cannot be able to function for an entire year. It is important that the Dhubri Forest Department should take action in this case, irrespective of the brick kiln owners who have not deposited the government's revenue.