Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient

Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

December 2017

Authors:

Sameer Maithel | Ananthakrishnan Ravi | Sonal Kumar

About Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation

Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation works to strengthen the energy security of the country by
aiding the design and implementation of policies that encourage energy efficiency, renewable
energy and sustainable transport solutions, with an emphasis on sub sectors with the most energy
saving potential. Working together with policy makers, civil society, academia, industry and other
partners, we take concerted action to help chart out a sustainable energy future for India
([Link]).

About Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (GKSPL) is a Clean Energy Research and Advisory
firm which offers services across Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Green Buildings
domains. GKSPL has been involved in providing technical support for design of several energy-
efficient buildings, studies related with integration of renewable energy in buildings, conducting
technical training programmes for building design professionals and undertaking policy studies in
the field of energy-efficient/low carbon buildings.

([Link])

© Greentech Knowledge Solutions Private Limited

All rights reserved

Disclaimer

The views/analysis expressed in this report/document do not necessarily reflect the views of
Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation. The Foundation also does not guarantee the accuracy
of any data included in this publication nor does it accept any responsibility for the
consequences of its use.

For private circulation only

Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Table of Content

Table of Content .......................................................................................................................... iv 

Preface......................................................................................................................................... vi 

Acknowledgment......................................................................................................................... viii 

List of Tables................................................................................................................................ ix 

List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. xi 

Abbreviations/Acronyms ............................................................................................................. xiii 

1  Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 

  Growth in Building Construction ..................................................................................... 1 

  Growth in Building Materials Demand ............................................................................ 1 

  Environmental Impacts of Building Materials .................................................................. 2 

  Concept of Resource Efficiency ..................................................................................... 7 

  Scope of the Study: Resource Efficient Bricks ............................................................... 8 

  Outline of the Report .................................................................................................... 14 

2  Bricks: Status ....................................................................................................................... 15 

  Market ........................................................................................................................... 15 

  Manufacturing Industry ................................................................................................. 22 

  Environmental Policy .................................................................................................... 34 

  Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 48 

3  Resource Efficient Bricks ..................................................................................................... 51 

  Parameters to define Resource Efficiency ................................................................... 51 

  Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 58 

4  Roadmap to Resource Efficient Brick future......................................................................... 59 

  Future Demand ............................................................................................................. 59 

  Potential Pathways for Transformation ......................................................................... 64 

  National Policy Roadmap for a ‘Mission on Resource-Efficient Bricks’ (2017–32) ....... 75 

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

  Summary and Next Action Points ................................................................................. 84 

Annexure 1: Brief description on types of bricks ......................................................................... 86 

Annexure 2: Calculation of brick requirement per m2 of floor space construction....................... 98 

Annexure 3: Sample Calculation - Manufacturing energy consumption of a walling material .. 101 

Annexure 4: Estimation of brick market in India........................................................................ 103 

Annexure 5: Resource Efficient Bricks Pathways for Maharashtra ........................................... 110 

Annexure 6: Projection methodology for market distribution of bricks for future scenarios ...... 121 

Annexure 7. Speakers, Panellists and Participants of the Stakeholder .................................... 127 

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Preface

Construction of buildings require a variety of building materials, such as, sand, aggregates, brick,
cement, steel, aluminum, timber, glass, ceramic tiles, etc. Building materials have a large
environment footprint. Building materials manufacturing is already one of the largest contributor
of GHG emissions, single largest user of mined raw materials and an important source of air
pollution in India. This roadmap focuses on bricks.

Masonry construction using bricks is the main type of building construction technology used in
the country. Among various types of bricks, solid burnt clay bricks are the most widely used bricks.
In recent years, several new walling construction technologies and materials have been
introduced, but in the foreseeable future, bricks are expected to retain its dominant position.
Given the large anticipated growth in the building construction, the annual demand for bricks in
India is expected to peak to 750–1000 billion standard billion bricks (SBUs) a year during 2032–
37 from about 250 SBUs a year during 2012–17.

It is against this background of rising demand for bricks and growing concerns about the
environment sustainability, this study was conducted by Greentech Knowledge Solutions with
support from Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and presents a “Roadmap for Promoting
Resource Efficient Bricks in India”.

The study covered a wide range of aspects:

a) It starts with presenting the status of brick sector in India, which includes an analysis of
the market for bricks, manufacturing industry and the environment policy landscape. It
highlights the unique features of the brick sector in India, be it pre-dominance of the small
unorganized sector enterprises in manufacturing, large number of persons employed,
regional differences in raw materials availability and markets, etc.
b)  It then presents a resource efficiency framework and compares different types of bricks
available in the Indian market – solid burnt clay brick, perforated burnt clay brick, hollow
burnt clay brick, burnt clay fly ash brick, compressed stabilised earth block (CSEB), fly ash
lime brick, fly ash cement brick, hollow concrete block, solid concrete block, autoclaved
aerated concrete (AAC) block, and cellular light-weight concrete (CLC) block. This
analysis leads to identifying options for resource efficient bricks (REBs) in the Indian
context.

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

c) The last section of the report deals with the estimation of the future demand for bricks and
presents a strategy and a roadmap for next 15 years to transform the brick sector and
make it resource efficient.

We anticipate and welcome debates and discussions on the numbers and roadmap presented in
this publication. Targeting policy makers, decision makers, and other important stakeholders of
the brick industry, we strongly believe that this audience can shape and give direction to the future
of the brick industry in the country and help the country in its quest for environment sustainability,
providing quality housing and sustainable livelihoods to all its citizens.

 
Sameer Maithel

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Acknowledgment

This study is continuation of work on improving environment performance of Indian brick industry,
being supported by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, since 2010. We gratefully
acknowledge Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation for their support.

We thank Dr. Veena Joshi for reviewing various project documents at different points of time and
providing valuable feedback. We also thank the brick manufacturers and the building industry
representatives who shared valuable information during field trips and survey. We thank all the
participants, speakers and panelists who participated in the national stakeholder workshop
organised at New Delhi on 7 June 2016 for their providing valuable inputs and sharing insights.

Last but not the least we would like to thank all our colleagues at Greentech Knowledge Solutions
for providing support to the project team whenever required and Mr. K P Eashwar of Academic
and Development Communication Services for editing the report.

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

List of Tables

Table 2.1. Main raw materials for the production of bricks ......................................................... 15 

Table 2.2. Availability of main raw-materials for bricks in different regions ................................ 16 

Table 2.3. Percentage distribution of household based on material used for wall construction
(Census, 2011) ........................................................................................................................... 18 

Table 2.4. Type of waling materials being used in large-scale housing projects in Indian cities 20 

Table 2.5. Market of bricks (2014/15) estimates in billion standard bricks/year ......................... 22 

Table 2.6. Particulate matter emission standards for brick kilns ................................................. 34 

Table 3.7. Resource efficiency benchmark values ..................................................................... 53 

Table 3.8. Primary material consumption of different bricks ....................................................... 54 

Table 3.9. Primary energy consumption for manufacturing of different bricks ............................ 55 

Table 3.10. CO2 emission during manufacturing of different bricks ............................................ 56 

Table 3.11. Particulate matter emission during manufacturing of different bricks ...................... 57 

Table 3.12. Resource efficiency comparison table ..................................................................... 58 

Table 4.13. Resource efficient brick (REB) choices for the three regions................................... 64 

Table 4.14. Brick production technology economics compared to the baseline of traditional Fixed
Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln ......................................................................................................... 72 

Table 4.15. Brick production technology emissions .................................................................... 73 

Table 4.16. Examples of risks in transformation of Indian clay brick industry ............................. 74 

Table 4.17. Amendment required in existing policies ................................................................. 79 

Table 4.18. Brick industry in Uttar Pradesh ................................................................................ 82 

Table A4.19. Steps and results of fly-ash-based brick production estimation .......................... 105 

Table A5.20. Maharashtra's division-wise raw material availability .......................................... 111 

Table A5.21. Fly ash utilisation (%) of Maharashtra's thermal power plants ............................ 113 

Table A5.22. Maharashtra's division-wise form of construction ................................................ 114 

Table A5.23. Market of bricks (2014/15) estimates in billion standard bricks/year ................... 115 

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Table A5.24. Brick manufacturing Industry (2014/15) no. of enterprises .................................. 116 

Table A5.25. Maharashtra's division-wise potential resource efficient brick solutions .............. 118 

Table A6.26. Distribution of regions into regional markets ....................................................... 123 

Table A6.27. The distribution of various bricks across regional markets for ‘resource efficient
scenario’.................................................................................................................................... 126 

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List of Figures

Figure 1.1. Building floor space (billion m2): 2012 and 2047......................................................... 1 

Figure 1.2. Most of the new construction in the country is masonry construction using different
types of bricks ............................................................................................................................. 10 

Figure 1.3. Various masonry products based on BIS classification ............................................ 12 

Figure 1.4. Census based walling material analysis based on households ................................ 13 

Figure 1.5. Decennial depiction of number of households with burnt clay bricks walls............... 13 

Figure [Link] used for constructing walls in India (Census data for 1991, 2001 and 2011) . 14 

Figure 2.7. Main physiographic regions of Indian and locations of thermal power plants ........... 17 

Figure 2.8. Geographical distribution of the brick manufacturing industry in India (Source: GKSPL
Analysis) ..................................................................................................................................... 24 

Figure 2.9. Fly ash generation and utilisation (MT/year) ............................................................. 38 

Figure 2.10. Fly ash availability in the country ............................................................................ 39 

Figure 2.11. Implementation mechanism for fly ash regulation .................................................. 41 

Figure 3.12. Parameter chart of resource efficient bricks ........................................................... 52 

Figure 3.13. Methodology for estimating future demand for bricks ............................................. 59 

Figure 4.14 Projected annual average demand for bricks (billion brick/year) for 2012–47 ......... 62 

Figure 4.15. Urban residential brick demand 2027–32 (billion) .................................................. 63 

Figure 4.16. Rural residential brick demand 2027–32 (billion) .................................................... 63 

Figure 4.17. Resource efficient brick choices for rural areas ...................................................... 65 

Figure 4.18. Resource efficient brick choices for urban areas .................................................... 66 

Figure 4.19. Brick market distribution in 2032 under ‘Reference Scenario’ ................................ 68 

Figure 4.20. Brick market distribution in 2032 under ‘Resource Efficient Scenario’.................... 69 

Figure 4.21. Cumulative clay consumption (2017–32) for future scenarios ................................ 70 

Figure 4.22. Cumulative equivalent coal consumption (2017–32) for future scenarios .............. 70 

Figure 4.23. Cumulative CO2 emission (2017–32) for future scenarios ...................................... 71 

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Figure 4.24. Key policy objectives of resource efficient brick initiative ....................................... 76 

Figure 4.25. Key policy action ..................................................................................................... 78 

Figure 4.26. Various policies that needs to be considered while developing the national policy on
resource efficient bricks .............................................................................................................. 79 

Figure A1.27. Solid burnt clay brick ............................................................................................ 86 

Figure A1.28. Manufacturing process of hollow/perforated clay bricks ....................................... 87 

Figure A1.29. Hollow clay block .................................................................................................. 88 

Figure A1.30. Eight-hole perforated brick ................................................................................... 89 

Figure A1.31. Manufacturing machinery for hollow/solid concrete blocks .................................. 90 

Figure A1.32. Hollow concrete block .......................................................................................... 90 

Figure A1.33. Solid concrete block ............................................................................................. 90 

Figure A1.34. AAC block manufacturing line .............................................................................. 91 

Figure A1.35. AAC blocks ........................................................................................................... 92 

Figure A1.36. CLC production process ....................................................................................... 93 

Figure A1.37. CLC block ............................................................................................................. 94 

Figure A1.38. C&D waste brick production process ................................................................... 94 

Figure A1.39. C&D waste bricks ................................................................................................. 95 

Figure A1.40. CSEB manufacturing process .............................................................................. 95 

Figure A1.41. Compressed stabilised earth blocks ..................................................................... 96 

Figure A1.42. Fly ash brick manufacturing process .................................................................... 97 

Figure A4.43. Distribution of households by predominant material of wall ............................... 108 

Figure A4.44. Distribution of households by number of dwelling rooms ................................... 108 

Figure A5.45. Districts and divisions of Maharashtra (without Palghar district) ........................ 110 

Figure A5.46. Manufacturing clusters of masonry products in Maharashtra ............................. 117 

Figure A6.47. Flowchart for estimating regional market brick distribution................................. 124 

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Abbreviations/Acronyms

AAC autoclaved aerated concrete

BEE Bureau of Energy Efficiency

BIS Bureau of Indian Standards

BMTPC Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council

BSPCB Bihar State Pollution Control Board

C&D construction and demolition

CAGR compound annual growth rate

CEA Central Electricity Authority

CLC cellular light-weight concrete

CPCB Central Pollution Control Board

CPWD Central Public Works Department

CSEB compressed stabilised earth block

CTO consent to operate

DEAC District Level Expert Appraisal Committee

DDA Delhi Development Authority

DEIAA District Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority

DIC District Industry Centre

DST Department of Science and Technology

EC environment clearance

ECBC Energy Conservation Building Code

EIA Environmental impact assessment

EPCA Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

ESP electrostatic precipitator

FCBTK fixed chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln

GFRG glass fibre reinforced gypsum

GHG greenhouse gas

IESS India Energy Security Scenarios

INR Indian National Rupee

LGSFS light gauge steel framed structures

MCBTK moving chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln

MNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

MoEFCC Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

MoHUA Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

MoMSME Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

MoUD Ministry of Urban Development

NCR National Capital Region

NGT National Green Tribunal

NSDC National Skill Development Council

PM particulate matter

PSCST Punjab State Council for Science and Technology

PWD Public Works Department

RCC reinforced cement concrete

REB resource efficient brick

SBU standard brick units

SEIAA state environment impact assessment authority

SLCP short-lived climate pollutant

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

SPCB state pollution control boar

SPM suspended particulate matter

TCPO Town and Country Planning Organisation

TERI The Energy and Resources Institute

ULB urban local body

VSBK vertical shaft brick kiln

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

1 Introduction

Growth in Building Construction

India’s building floor space is growing rapidly, propelled by economic and population growth,
and urbanisation. The number of houses increased from 25 crore to 33 crore, an increase of
33% between 2001 and 2011.1 A study by McKinsey2 estimated that the building floor space
doubled from 4 billion m2 to 8 billion m2 during the period 1990–2005. The same study
projected that the demand for building floor space will rise to 41 billion m2 by 2030 (a 500%
growth during 2005–30). A study by NITI Aayog has projected that India’s building floor space
will increase by about four times, i.e., from 14 billion m2 to 64 billion m2, during 2012–47 (Figure
1.1).3 The enhanced focus of the Government of India on programmes such as ‘Housing for
All’ and ‘Smart Cities’ is expected to increase the growth of building floor space in the
immediate future.

60 53.6
50

40

30

20 13.4
9.6
10
0.75
0
2012 2047

Residential floor space area (billion m2)
Commercial floor space (billion m2)

Figure 1.1. Building floor space (billion m2): 2012 and 20474

Growth in Building Materials Demand

Construction of buildings requires a variety of building materials such as sand, aggregates,

cement, steel, aluminium, timber, glass, brick, and ceramic tiles. Growth in construction of new

1 Census of India. 2011. <[Link]/2011census/hlo/Data_sheet/India/00_2011_Housing_India.ppt>

(accessed on 14 April 2017).
2 McKinsey. 2009. Environment & Energy Sustainability: An Approach for India. Mumbai: McKinsey & Company

Inc.
3 Niti Aayog. 2015. India Energy Security Scenarios < [Link] > (accessed on 14 April

2017)
4 Niti Aayog. 2015. India Energy Security Scenarios < [Link] > (estimates for 7.4%

CAGR in GDP) (accessed on 14 April 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

buildings means an increase in the demand for building materials. For example, as per the
McKinsey study, the annual demand for cement doubled from 60 million tonnes (MT) in 1990
to 127 MT in 2005; further, this is expected to grow to 860 MT by 2030. As per NITI Aayog,
the annual demand for cement is projected to increase from about 230 MT in 2012 to over
1000 MT by 2047 (an increase of 400%) and that of steel, another material used widely in
building construction, from about 90 MT in 2012 to 650 MT by 2047 (an increase of about
700%).5

Environmental Impacts of Building Materials

There are a variety of environmental impacts that take place during the life cycle of a building
material and hence increased demand for building materials would have severe impacts on
the environment. The life cycle of building materials essentially consists of five stages (Figure
1.2):

Extraction of raw-materials
Production
Transportation
Use in buildings
Demolition of building

Figure 1.2. Stages in the life cycle of building materials

5 Niti Aayog. 2015. India Energy Security Scenarios < [Link] > (accessed on 14 April

2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Each of these stages and the main environmental impacts are described in the following
paragraphs.

Extraction of raw materials: Large quantities of raw materials are required for the
production of building materials. These include sand (used in concrete and mortar),
common clay/brick earth (used for brick production), stone (used as blocks for wall
construction or as aggregates used in concrete), limestone (used in cement production),
and iron ore (used for steel production). Out of the total material consumption in India of
5.4 billion tonnes (BT) in 2013, about 2.3 BT (almost 43% of the total consumption)6 was
for industrial and construction minerals, a large part of it being attributed to building
materials. During the past two decades, the construction sector has been the fastest
growing sector with regard to increase in absolute material consumption.7

Figure 1.3. Clay mining

The extraction of raw materials for building materials has many negative environmental
impacts. They range from land degradation, damage to forest eco-systems, damage to
rivers, loss of agriculture top-soil, reduction in ground water recharge, air pollution, water
pollution, noise pollution, etc. Also, the machinery for mining and transportation of raw
material uses fossil fuels, which results in air pollution and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Production: Production or manufacturing of building materials is energy intensive. Cement,

iron and steel, aluminium, bricks, glass, and ceramic tiles are some of the largest energy
consuming industries. Cement industry accounted for 38 MT and iron and steel industry
combined accounted for 81 MT of raw coal consumption in India in 2014/15.8 Burnt clay

6 Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU).2014. Global Material Flows Database. <

[Link] > (accessed on April 14. 2017)

7 GIZ. 2016. Material Consumption Patterns in India – A Baseline Study of the Automotive & Construction

Sectors. New Delhi: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
8 Ministry of Statistics an Programme Implementation (MOSPI). 2015. Energy Statistics 2016.<

[Link] (accessed on 1 December 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

brick industry consumed about 31 MT of raw coal in 2014/15.9 With the increase in the
production of building materials, the consumption of energy (mostly fossil fuels) will also
grow.

Figure 1.4. Smoke emission from a brick-kiln chimney

As per NITI Aayog, the annual energy demand for the cement industry is projected to
increase from 250 TWh (terawatt-hour) in 2017 to 906 TWh in 2047 (an increase of 260%);
and that of the iron and steel industry from 926 TWh in 2017 to 4192 TWh in 2047 (an
increase of 350%).10 The use of large amounts of energy, which is mostly derived from
fossil fuels, gives rise to air pollution (particulate and gaseous pollutants) and CO2
emissions.

Transportation: The construction sector accounts for 20%11 of all materials demand and
as this material needs to be transported in the form of raw materials and finished building
material products, transportation of construction materials constitutes a large chunk of the
freight transport. Most of the material is transported by road and some by rail and ships.
All these modes of transport use fossil fuels causing air pollution and CO2 emissions.

9 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST) at Chandigarh on 24 May
2016.
10 NITI Aayog. 2015. India Energy Security Scenarios excel tool “IESS_Version2.2”.

<[Link] (accessed on 22 August 2017)

11 Dittrich M. 2015. Global Material Flows database. < [Link] > (accessed on 14 April 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Figure 1.5. Air pollution caused by truck transportation12

Operational energy in buildings: The operating energy of a building is the amount of energy
that is consumed by a building to satisfy the demand for heating, cooling, ventilation,
lighting, equipment, and appliances. The thermal properties of building materials influence
the thermal properties of the building envelope, and hence the operation energy in
buildings. For example, better thermal insulation property of walls helps in reducing the
energy use for heating or cooling of the building and thereby, reducing the impact on the
environment. The environmental impacts are in the form of use of fossil fuels, air pollution,
and CO2 emissions. Worldwide, buildings consume 30%–40% of primary energy in their
construction, operation, and maintenance and are held responsible for emitting 40% of
greenhouse gases (GHGs)13. In India, 24% of the primary energy and 30% of the electrical
energy are consumed in buildings.14

12Image Source [Link]

13Asif M, Muneer T, and Kelley R. 2007. Life cycle assessment: a case study of a dwelling home in Scotland,
Building and Environment 42: 1391–94. 
14 Bansal N K. 2007. Science, technology and society energy security for India. In: Jyotirmay Mathur, H J

Wagner, N K Bansal (eds), Energy Security, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, pp. 15–23. New
Delhi: Anamaya Publishers

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Figure 1.6. Construction site of a building showing the use of steel, cement, and bricks

Demolition: At the end of the life of a building, the building is demolished. Construction and
demolition (C&D) waste comprises building materials and debris and rubble resulting from
construction, re-modeling, repair, and demolition of any civil structure.15 There are various
estimates regarding the quantum of generation of C&D waste. A study indicates that 14.5
MT16 of construction waste is generated annually in India. Growth of population, increasing
construction, and rising standards of living due to technological innovations have
contributed to an increase in the quantity of C&D waste. Building materials differ in terms
of reuse and recycling potential. The materials that have low potential for reuse and
recycling or that are toxic have larger negative environment impact.

Figure 1.7. Construction and demolition (C&D) waste at a C&D waste brick manufacturing set-up

15 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 2016. Draft CPCB Guidelines on Environmental Management of C&D

Waste Management in India. New Delhi: CPCB.

16 Pappu, et al. 2007. Solid Wastes Generation in India and Their Recycling Potential in Building Materials.

Building and Environment 42(6): 2311–20.

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Concept of Resource Efficiency

Resource efficiency is defined as ‘using the Earth’s limited resources in a sustainable

manner while minimizing impacts on the environment’.17 There is a need to apply the
concepts of resource efficiency to deal with the issue of environmental impacts of
building materials. In this report, the definition of resources is limited to primary and
secondary raw materials, and energy.

The concept of resource efficiency has been gaining ground, particularly in Europe, with the
development of a ‘Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe’, which proposes ways to increase
resource productivity and decouple economic growth from resource use and its environmental
impact.18

India does not have an overarching policy framework on resource efficiency. However, there
are several regulations pertaining to buildings and building materials, which directly or
indirectly promote the concept of resource efficiency. Examples of such regulations are listed
below.

 The National Building Code (NBC) advocates reuse of existing buildings, use of rapidly
renewable materials, recycled materials to minimise the adverse impact of natural
resource consumption in the manufacture of new building materials.19 It also calls for
promoting the use of local materials to assist the local economy and reduce the negative
impact of transportation.
 The notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on
fly ash utilisation20 is aimed at promoting use of secondary raw materials such as fly ash,
bottom ash or pond ash generated due to burning of coal in power plants, primarily for the
production of construction materials and to conserve natural resources.
 Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016,21 by MoEFCC is another
such regulation that is aimed at promoting recycling and reuse of C&D waste.

17 [Link] (accessed on 16 March 2017)

18 [Link] (accessed on 16 March
2017)
19 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). 2016. National Building Code Part 11. Approach to Sustainability. New

Delhi: BIS
20 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). 2016. Amendment in fly ash regulation 2016.

< [Link] > (accessed on 12 May 2017).

21 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). 2016. C&D waste notification.

<[Link] (accessed on 12 May 2017).

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

 The MoEFCC emission standards22 for brick kilns, cement kilns, and steel power plants
aim at reducing the air pollution during the manufacturing of building materials and thus
reducing the environmental impact of building material production.
 The Environment Impact Assessment notification for the mining of minor minerals23 (e.g.,
sand, soil for brick making) is another regulation that tries to limit the environmental
damage during the process of extraction of raw materials.
 The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)24 by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(BEE) aims at reducing the operational energy in commercial buildings.

Figure 1.8. Existing environment regulations that promote resource efficiency in buildings and building materials

Scope of the Study: Resource Efficient Bricks

1.5.1 Definition of brick

Within the larger domain of building materials, this report focuses only on bricks.

A brick, in the context of this report, is defined as a building material primarily used to make
walls but it can also be used for the construction of pavements, canals, drains and other
elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term brick is referred to a unit

22 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). 2009. Emission Standards for Brick Kiln

Sector. < [Link] (accessed on 12 May 2017).

23 [Link]

52628 (accessed on 1 June 2017)

24 [Link] (accessed on 1 December 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

composed of clay, but in the context of this report it is used to denote any rectangular unit
laid in mortar.25

The largest application of bricks is for the construction of walls. It should be noted that apart
from brick masonry construction, a variety of other materials and construction techniques exist
for the construction of walls (Figure 1.9).

Technologies for the construction of 
walls

Masonry construction using bricks Alternate wall construction 
technologies
(monolithic concrete, glass fibre 
reinforced gypsum, cement boards, 
precast concrete panels, structural 
glass, etc.)

Figure 1.9. Technologies for the construction of walls

The Building Materials Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) has published a

‘Compendium of Prospective Emerging Technologies for Mass Housing’, in which the
following alternate wall construction technologies have been covered:

 Monolithic Concrete Construction System

 Expanded Polystyrene Core Panel System
 Industrialised 3-S System using Precast RCC Columns, Beams and Cellular Light Weight
Concrete Precast RCC Slabs
 Speed Floor System
 Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) Panel Building System
 Factory Made Fast Track Modular Building System
 Light Gauge Steel Framed Structures (LGSFS)

In addition to the above-mentioned alternatives, materials such as structural glass, aluminum

panels, and cement boards are also used for wall construction. The application of alternative
wall construction technologies is mostly confined to the organised real estate sector. The

25 Definition adapted from [Link] (accessed on 14 June 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

organised real estate sector is estimated to construct about 0.1 billion m2/year,26 which is a
small segment (~13%) of the total annual building construction in India. Thus, the overall
market share of alternative technologies for the construction of walls is estimated to be small
(less than 10%).

Construction carried out by the unorganised sector, which includes construction done by local
masons, civil contractors, small builders as well as self-construction, is estimated at about
0.65 billion m2/year27 (~87%) making it the main mode of construction in the country (Figure
1.2). Within the unorganised sector, brick masonry construction is the most popular method
for the construction of walls.

In the coming decades, the percentage shares of both the organised real estate sector and
alternative technologies for wall construction are likely to increase. However, brick-based
masonry construction is expected to remain the dominant form of wall construction in the near
future, and hence this study focuses on bricks.

Organised 
construction 
(masonry 
construction + 
alternate walling 
systems)
13%
Unorganised 
construction 
sector (mostly 
masonry 
construction)
87%

Figure 1.2. Most of the new construction in the country is masonry construction using different types of bricks

1.5.2 Types of bricks

The various types of bricks covered in this study are classified into three categories as per the
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)28.

26 Bain & Company, Inc. 2016. Residential real estate in India.

<[Link] (accessed on 01 June 2017)
27 The total built-up area in India is estimated to be about 15 billion m2 by NITI Aayog (IESS, 2047). If we take an

annual growth rate of 5% increase in the building built-up area, the annual addition in the built-up area will be
0.75 billion m2/year. The organised real estate constructs about 0.1 billion m2/year, thus the remaining 0.65 billion
m2/year is assumed to be constructed by the unorganised construction sector. [NITI Aayog. 2015. India Energy
Security Scenarios excel tool “IESS_Version2.2”. <[Link] (accessed on 22
August 2017)].
28 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). 2005. National Building Code. New Delhi: BIS.

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1. Clay and stabilised soil products: Common clay or soil is the predominant raw material
used for the manufacturing of this set of products.
 Solid, hollow, perforated burnt clay bricks, and clay-fly ash burnt bricks in the category
are produced by firing of bricks in a kiln in which the bricks gain strength due to
vitrification process.
 In the case of compressed stabilised earth blocks (CSEB), the strength is achieved
by mixing cement and its curing.
2. Building lime and gypsum products: Fly ash is the major constituent in pulverised fuel ash
lime bricks, commonly known as FaL-G bricks. Lime reacts with silica from fly ash in the
presence of moisture to form calcium silicate hydrate, which provides binding. The strength
of this product is achieved by the process of curing.
3. Cement matrix products: Cement is the most important raw material used for the
manufacturing of products in this category.
 Products such as autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks and cellular light-weight
concrete (CLC) blocks have lower density (lighter in weight) and are produced by
introducing air voids inside the block body during manufacturing. AAC, CLC, and
pulverised fuel ash (also known as fly ash) are the major constituent.
 Pulverised fuel ash cement bricks have fly ash as their major constituent.
 Solid/hollow concrete blocks have aggregates as their major constituent.

These set of products achieve their strength by the process of curing.29 The curing is done
naturally (in ambient conditions) in all the products except in AAC blocks where autoclaves
are used. Figure 1.3 shows various kinds of bricks.

29The water causes the hardening of concrete through a process called hydration. Hydration is a chemical
reaction in which the major compounds in cement form chemical bonds with water molecules and become
hydrates or hydration products.

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Figure 1.3. Various masonry products based on BIS classification

1.5.3 Census data on use of bricks in construction

As per the Census of India 201130, burnt clay bricks were the predominant material for wall
construction in 47% households; but if we consider only the urban households this percentage
was 64% (Figure 1.4). If we compare the number of households with burnt clay brick as walling
material, the number of such households has more than doubled, from 5.2 crore in 1991 to
11.7 crore in 2011 (Figure 1.5).

30Census of India. 2011. [Link] (accessed on

1 Dec 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Total households: Predominant material  Urban households: Predominant material 
for wall (Census 2011) for wall (Census 2011)
Biomass  Biomass  Mud/ 
Others materials
materials unburnt 
5% 3%
10% brick
Others 9%
9%

Mud/ 
Stone
unburnt 
15%
brick
24%
Burnt brick
47%
Burnt brick
64%
Stone
14%

Figure 1.4. Census based walling material analysis based on households

Number of households (crores) with burnt clay brick walls 
(2011)
14

12

10

6 11.7325

4 8.3904

5.1642
2

0
1991 2001 2011

Figure 1.5. Decennial depiction of number of households with burnt clay bricks walls

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Proportion of HHs
(%)

Figure [Link] used for constructing walls in India (Census data for 1991, 2001 and 2011)31

The analysis of the census data shows that burnt clay brick is the main building material used
for the construction of walls in the country. Overall, there is a strong trend of replacing the
buildings constructed using traditional mud/unburnt brick with buildings made of burnt clay
bricks.

Outline of the Report

Chapter 2 of this report provides details about the status of the brick sector in India in terms
of manufacturing industry, market, and environment policies.

Chapter 3 presents the resource efficiency framework and performance of various types of
bricks with respect to various resource efficiency parameters. Various brick types have been
compared based on a resource efficiency framework presented in the chapter and a few
resource efficient brick (REB) options are identified.

Chapter 4 presents a roadmap/strategy for transformation to an REB future. It presents the

projected demand for bricks in the future and presents a policy roadmap for the transformation
to REBs.

31 Census of India. 2011. <[Link]/2011census/hlo/Data_sheet/India/00_2011_Housing_India.ppt>

(accessed on 14 April 2017)

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2 Bricks: Status

Market

The market of bricks shows wide variations across the country. These variations are mainly
influenced by:

 Geographical region (based primarily on raw material availability) and

 Type of building projects (urban/rural, intended use, scale, agency responsible for the
construction, etc.).

2.1.1 Regional diversity based on raw material availability

Given the large quantities of raw materials required to produce bricks, utilisation of local raw
materials (to reduce transportation) is a pre-requisite. In rural areas, bricks are usually
produced adjacent to the location where the main (bulky) raw materials are available.
Traditionally, brick enterprises around urban areas were located adjacent to the locations
where main raw-materials were available. Now, several enterprises source their raw materials
over longer distances, still this distance is usually less than 100 km.

Three main raw-materials to produce bricks are brick earth/clay, stone aggregates, and fly ash
(Table 2.1).

Table 2.1. Main raw materials for the production of bricks

Type of bricks Main raw-material (bulky, Other raw-materials

accounting for 55%–100% of
the raw materials requirements)

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Pulverised fuel ash (fly ash Sand, cement, lime,
blocks, Cellular Light Weight from thermal power plants) gypsum, aluminium
Concrete, Pulverised Fuel Ash- powder
Lime bricks, Pulverised Fuel Ash-
Cement bricks

Stone chips (coarse aggregate) sand or stone-dust (fine

Hollow Concrete blocks
aggregate), cement

Solid burnt clay, perforated burnt Brick earth/ clay Coal as fuel (for burnt-clay

clay, hollow burnt clay blocks, products); Cement (CSEB)

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Compressed stabilised earth

blocks (CSEB)

The distribution of these three raw materials is not uniform in the country. Based on the raw
material availability for the manufacturing of bricks, the country can be divided into three
regions:

Himalayan states and North-eastern States (except Assam and Tripura)

Indo-Gangetic plains, Assam, and Tripura
Peninsular, desert, and coastal India

The availability of the three main raw materials for making bricks is shown in Table 2.2; the
three regions are marked on the map of India in Figure 2.7.

Table 2.2. Availability of main raw-materials for bricks in different regions

Region Stone for Brick earth Fly ash

building/ stone
aggregate

Himalayan states and Good availability Availability limited to No local availability, as

North-eastern States valleys there are no thermal
(except Assam and power plants located in
Tripura) this region

Indo-Gangetic plains, No local availability Good quality brick Availability limited to a

Assam, and Tripura in the region making clay is few pockets near thermal
abundantly available power plants
throughout the region

Peninsular, desert, and Good availability Brick earth availability This region has 75% of
coastal India limited to delta the total thermal power
regions, flood plains of generation capacity
rivers, ponds, and installed in the country.
rice-cultivating areas Due to large
concentration of power
plants, there are several
places which have good
availability of fly ash.

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Figure 2.7. Main physiographic regions of Indian and locations of thermal power plants

An analysis of the Census 2011 data on walling material for house construction is presented
in Table 2.3. The analysis shows that there is a broad agreement between the availability of
raw material and the building material used for walling.

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Table 2.3. Percentage distribution of household based on material used for wall construction (Census, 2011)32

% Distribution of households by predominant material of roof as per Census 2011

Indian States Clay based Concrete Stone Biomass and
Burnt Unburnt Total Others
Jammu & Kashmir 55.9 13.2 69.1 2.2 23.9 4.8
except Assam & Tripura
Himalayan region and

Himachal Pradesh 44.1 18 62.1 1 34.7 2.2

North eastern states

Uttarakhand 55.1 4.5 59.6 1.9 35.2 3.3

Sikkim 24.6 10.7 35.3 13.8 7.5 43.4
Manipur 11.8 54.1 65.9 1 1.3 31.8
Nagaland 13.8 3.2 17 5.6 1 76.4
Meghalaya 9.4 6.9 16.3 13 5.6 65.1
Mizoram 7.2 0.2 7.4 10.2 0.5 81.9
Arunachal Pradesh 5.6 1.9 7.5 8.1 5 79.4
Punjab 87.1 4.7 91.8 5.2 1.9 1.1
Indo-Gangetic Plains,

Haryana 87.1 4.3 91.4 1.9 5.6 1.1

Assam & Tripura

NCT of Delhi # 86.3 2.2 88.5 5.5 4.8 1.2

Uttar Pradesh 68.4 20 88.4 0.6 3.2 7.8
Bihar 49.2 19 68.2 0.8 2.1 28.9
Assam 21.2 3.6 24.8 2.9 2.2 70.1
Tripura 12.2 50.4 62.6 0.5 1 35.9
West Bengal 44.1 29.1 73.2 3.8 1.2 21.8
Jharkhand 36.2 58.5 94.7 0.8 2.1 2.4
Peninsualar, Coastal and Desert

Odisha 36.7 47 83.7 1.6 7.1 7.6

Chhattisgarh 27.8 66 93.8 0.7 3.5 2
Madhya Pradesh 36.9 49.4 86.3 0.9 7.8 5
Rajasthan 28.5 22.1 50.6 0.4 45.3 3.7
Region

Gujarat 61.3 18.2 79.5 3.6 10.4 6.5

Andhra Pradesh 48.6 15.2 63.8 2 27.3 6.9
Kerala 24.5 11.5 36 2.9 56.9 4.2
Maharashtra 45.9 21.7 67.6 10.2 13.4 8.8
Karnataka 33.9 21.7 55.6 6.9 32.1 5.4
Goa 1.8 12 13.8 8.7 74.3 3.2
Tamil Nadu 45.3 20.8 66.1 8.6 20.1 5.2

The analysis shows that

 Himalayan and North-eastern states (except Assam and Tripura): In the western
Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, clay-
based walling materials and stone are the main materials for masonry construction. In
the North-eastern region, in a few states clay-based bricks are dominant, but other
materials such as biomass (e.g., bamboo) and metal sheets are also used.
 Indo-Gangetic plains, Assam and Tripura: This region is dominated by the use of clay-
based bricks.

32Census of India. 2011. [Link]

(accessed on 14 April 2017)

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 Peninsular, desert, and coastal India: In several states of this region, clay-based bricks
dominate the existing buildings. After clay, stone is the second largest material in use
along with concrete blocks.

2.1.2 Type of building projects

Rural

Residential construction in rural areas is mostly single-story or low-rise construction. Except

for rural housing constructed by the government, most of the residential construction is self-
constructed or self-supervised by the owner by hiring the services of masons. Usually
traditional construction technologies (load-bearing masonry construction, concrete-framed
construction with masonry in-fill, etc.) are used in this segment. The main types of bricks used
for masonry construction in rural areas are given below.

 Himalayan and North-Eastern States (except Assam and Tripura): Clay-based (burnt
and un-burnt) bricks and stone are the main materials used in masonry construction.
 Indo-Gangetic plains, Assam, and Tripura: Clay-based (burnt and un-burnt) bricks are
the main materials used in masonry construction.
 Peninsular, desert, and coastal India: Clay-based (burnt and un-burnt) bricks and stone
are the main materials used in masonry construction.

Urban

Construction in urban areas is varied in terms of intended use, scale, agency responsible for
the construction, construction technology, etc. The main categories are given below.

Large-scale housing projects

Large-scale housing projects refer to projects where several hundreds or several thousands
of houses are constructed as a part of a single project. In this segment, there is a growing
preference for mid-/high-rise construction. Private sector builders dominate the market in new
housing and new township developments; public sector involvement is limited to development
of public sector housing and some affordable housing projects. The main trends in terms of
brick use are listed below.

 Himalayan and North-eastern states (except Assam and Tripura): Solid burnt clay bricks
are the main material for masonry construction. In some areas, concrete blocks are also
used.

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 Indo-Gangetic plains, Assam, and Tripura: Traditionally only solid burnt clay bricks were
used and still maintain the top position. However, AAC blocks due to their lower weight,
lower thermal conductivity, and faster construction have gained a significant part of the
market in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Kolkata. These blocks have been
introduced in other major urban centres in the region (Chandigarh, Lucknow, etc.) as
well.
 Peninsular, desert, and coastal India: In this region, in most urban areas there is no
single type of brick that is dominant. In most of the cities in this region, several types of
bricks are being used, which may consist of solid burnt clay brick, AAC blocks,
pulverised fuel ash bricks, and concrete blocks.

Table 2.4 gives the distribution of the type of bricks used in large-scale housing projects in
major Indian cities.

Table 2.4. Type of waling materials being used in large-scale housing projects in Indian cities

Type of bricks used in

Other walling
Cities Region large-scale housing
technologies
projects

Himalayan and North- Solid burnt clay

Shimla, Dehra Dun,
eastern states (except bricks, AAC blocks None
Dharmshala
Assam and Tripura) being introduced

Ludhiana, Lucknow, Solid burnt clay

Indo-Gangetic plains, Monolithic concrete
Patna, Guwahati, bricks, AAC blocks
Assam, and Tripura construction
Kolkata, Varanasi being introduced

AAC blocks, solid Monolithic concrete

Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida,
Indo-Gangetic plains, burnt clay bricks, construction, pre-
Faridabad, Ghaziabad,
Assam, and Tripura pulverised fuel ash fabricated concrete
Sonipat
bricks panels

Solid burnt clay

Jaipur, Indore, Peninsular, desert, bricks, AAC blocks, Monolithic concrete
Ahmedabad, Bhopal and coastal India pulverized fuel ash construction
bricks

AAC blocks,
Peninsular, desert, pulverised fuel ash Monolithic concrete
Mumbai, Pune, Thane
and coastal India brick, Solid burnt clay construction
bricks

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Solid burnt clay-fly

Peninsular, desert, Monolithic concrete
Nagpur ash bricks, pulverised
and coastal India construction
fuel ash bricks

Solid concrete blocks,

Peninsular, desert, solid burnt clay brick, Monolithic concrete
Bengaluru
and coastal India hollow burnt clay brick, construction
AAC blocks

AAC blocks, Concrete

Peninsular, desert, blocks, solid burnt clay Monolithic concrete
Hyderabad, Chennai
and coastal India brick, pulverised fuel construction
ash bricks

Pulverised fuel ash

Peninsular, desert,
Vishakhapatnam brick, Solid burnt clay None
and coastal India
bricks, AAC blocks

Solid burnt clay

Coimbatore, Madurai, Peninsular, desert,
bricks, Pulverised fuel None
Vijayawada and coastal India
ash brick, AAC blocks

Source: Field survey by GKSPL during 2015/16

In the high-rise construction, the preference is for lighter materials and materials/technologies,
which allows for faster rate of construction and requires less skilled workers. The growing
market for AAC blocks and monolithic construction is mainly explained based on this
preference.

Low-rise housing

The housing on smaller plots of land, urban slums and urban villages are mostly low-rise and
self-constructed. Usually traditional construction technologies and materials are used in this
segment. Burnt clay bricks and in some areas pulverised fuel ash bricks are the main walling
materials. The penetration of alternative materials is rather limited.

2.1.3 Market of bricks

The total production (2014/15) for different types of bricks is estimated to be 274 billion
bricks/year (Table 2.5). As no agency in the country has good data on the market of bricks,

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the table has been prepared by compiling data from different studies. A short methodology
and information on sources is provided in Annexure 4.

Table 2.5. Market of bricks (2014/15) estimates in billion standard bricks/year

Type of brick Annual consumption Source

(2014/15)
Solid burnt clay bricks 243 billion bricks/year Based on production data
[Kamyotra J S. 2016]33
[Kumar S. 2016]34
Hollow and perforated burnt clay 0.2 billion bricks/year Based on production data
bricks [GKSPL. 2016]35
Pulverised fuel-ash lime/cement 11.7 billion bricks/year Based on fly-ash utilisation
bricks data of CEA
[GKSPL. 2016]36
Autoclaved aerated concrete 4.4 billion bricks/year Based on fly-ash utilisation
blocks data of CEA
[GKSPL. 2016]37
Concrete blocks 15 billion bricks/year Explained in Point 4 of
Annexure 4 in this report
Total 274 billion bricks/year

The data shows that solid burnt clay bricks still retain ~89% of the market for bricks. The other
bricks such as concrete blocks, pulverised fuel-ash lime/cement bricks, and hollow and
perforated burnt clay bricks together make up for the rest of the market. The market for
alternative bricks, particularly AAC blocks,38 has grown during the last decade.

Manufacturing Industry

The manufacturing industry for the production of bricks is spread throughout the country. The
total number of manufacturing units is estimated to range between 2,50,000 and 3,00,000. It

33 Kamyotra J S. 2016. CPCB presentation titled “Brick Kilns in India”, Presentation made at the workshop on

“Roadmap for Brick Kiln Sector Challenges and Opportunities”, organized by Centre for Science & Environment
at New Delhi on February 8, 2016.
34 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST) at Chandigarh on 24 May
2016
35 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd (GKSPL).2016. Market assessment of burnt clay resource efficient

bricks. Report prepared for UNDP-GEF-MoEFCC project on “Energy Efficiency Improvements in the Indian Brick
Industry”.
36 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (GKSPL). [Link] of fly ash based Walling Material

Production Inventory in India, Report prepared for Climate Studies Program, Indian Institute of Technology,
Bombay.
37 Ibid.
38 [Link] (accessed on 1 July 2017)

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is estimated that a majority of the units (>98% in number of units and contributing to >90% of
the production) can be characterised as belonging to the unorganised industrial sector; within
these a large number of units, particularly those producing solid burnt clay bricks, show several
characteristics of informal sector.39 For the definition of ‘organised’, ‘unorganised’ and
‘informal’, please refer to Box 1.

Box 1: What is meant by organised, unorganised, and informal sector?

Adapted from ‘India Unincorporated’, by R. Vaidyanathan

Organised sector: Enterprises that are registered or come under the purview of the Companies Act
2013 or Factories Act 1948 and maintain any annual report presenting the profit and loss account
and balance sheet.
Unorganised sector: Partnership and proprietorship enterprises, which do not maintain
any annual report presenting the profit and loss account and balance sheet.
Informal sector: It is a sub-set of the unorganised sector. From the point of view of mode of
production or economic activity, the distinguishing features of the informal sector are as follows:
a) Low level of organisation; small in scale usually employing fewer than 10 workers and often from
the immediate family;
b) Heterogeneity in activities;
c) Easier entry and exit than in the formal sector;
d) Usually minimal capital investment; little or no division between labour and capital;
e) Mostly labour-intensive work, requiring low-level skills; there is usually no formal training as
workers learn on the job;
f) Labour relations based on casual employment and or social relationships as opposed to formal
contracts; employer and employee relationship is often unwritten and informal with little or no
rights;
g) Due to their isolation and invisibility, workers in the informal sector are often largely unaware of
their rights, cannot organise them and have little negotiating power with their employers and
intermediaries.

39 Vaidyanathan R. 2014. India Unincorporated. Westland and Tranquebar Press. 372 pp

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Figure 2.8. Geographical distribution of the brick manufacturing industry in India (Source: GKSPL Analysis)

Figure 2.8 depicts the geographical distribution of the brick manufacturing industry in India. In
the following sections, an overview of brick industry classified according to the type of brick
has been presented.

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2.2.1 Solid Burnt clay bricks

The number of enterprises producing solid burnt clay bricks ranges from 1,40,00040 to
2,10,000.41 The estimated annual production varies from 236 billion42 to 260 billion43 bricks.
Most of the enterprises are ‘informal’ enterprises, located in peri-urban and rural areas. Brick
manufacturing industry shows different characteristics in the three zones:

Indo-Gangetic plains account for about 65% of total burnt clay brick production in the
country. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, and Haryana are the major brick
producing states in this region; owing to the easy availability of fertile alluvium soils. The
typical production capacity of the enterprises ranges from 30 lakh to 80 lakh bricks ayear.
The total number of enterprises is estimated to range between 40,000 and 50,000. The
capital cost for the construction of a Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln (FCBTK), which can
produce about 5 million bricks a year is about INR 30–50 lakh. FCBTK is the main brick
kiln technology for firing of bricks. In recent years, 3000–4000 FCBTKs have been
converted into more efficient zigzag kilns. In all cities of this region, brick kiln clusters are
located just outside the municipal limits. Some of these are large and can have 300–500
kilns located together (e.g., Baghpat, Bahdurgarh [both in NCR], and Maner [outside
Patna]).
Peninsular, coastal, and desert regions account for the remaining 35% of solid burnt clay
brick production. The main raw material for making bricks (brick earth) is available only in
small pockets and hence the industry is distributed. Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu
are important brick producing states. Leaving aside a few big burnt clay brick making
clusters located around Nagpur, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Bengaluru, etc., which
are using FCBTK technology, a majority of the brick manufacturing units are small (annual
production <20 lakh bricks a year) and use clamps or other intermittent kilns for firing of
bricks. The rate of adoption of mechanisation is higher in this region compared to the Indo-
Gangetic plains.
The brick production in the Himalayan region is limited to valleys (e.g., Srinagar and Dehra
Dun).

40 Kamyotra J S. 2016. CPCB presentation titled “Brick Kilns in India”. Presentation made at the workshop on

“Roadmap for Brick Kiln Sector Challenges and Opportunities”, organised by the Centre for Science and
Environment at New Delhi on 8 February 2016.
41 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology at Chandigarh on 24 May 2016.
42 Ibid.
43 Kamyotra J S. 2016. CPCB presentation titled “Brick Kilns in India”. Presentation made at the workshop on

“Roadmap for Brick Kiln Sector Challenges and Opportunities”, organised by the Centre for Science and
Environment at New Delhi on 8 February 2016.

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Most of the brick kilns in India are non-mechanised or use basic level of mechanisation in the
manufacturing process. This industry employs mainly hand-moulding methods for the shaping
of green bricks. Surface soil excavated from agriculture fields and silt deposited from river and
tanks are the main sources of clay supplies. These enterprises operate during the dry season
(in most parts of the country this ranges from November to June) and are estimated to employ
about 10 million workers (mostly seasonal migrant workers). The total annual turnover is
estimated to be about INR 80,000 to 100,000 crore. Brick kilns consume about 31 million
tonnes (MT)44 of coal a year, making them the third largest industrial consumer of coal after
the iron and steel industry, and cement industry.

Solid burnt clay brick industry is an old industry in India, with its history going back to the time
of great river valley civilisations of Harappa. The industry has grown rapidly during last three
decades, with its production increasing from 50 billion45 in 1985 to 243 billion in 2015. This
rapid expansion of brick making with only small improvements in its technology has given rise
to many environmental concerns. The main environmental concerns associated with the
production of common burnt clay bricks are mentioned below.

 Large CO2 emissions: The production process involves baking of bricks up to a

temperature of 800–1100 oC in brick kilns. To achieve this high temperature, fuel is burned
in brick kilns. As indicated earlier, common burnt clay brick industry is one of the largest
industrial consumers of coal in the country. The CO2 emissions from the solid burnt clay
brick industry are estimated to be 66–84 MT per year.46
 Air pollution: The combustion of fuel in brick kilns, which is often incomplete, gives rise to
a variety of air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide
(CO), Hydrogen Fluoride (HF), and black carbon. The black carbon emissions from brick
kilns in India are estimated at over 100,000 tonnes a year.47 Recent research shows that
large brick kiln clusters around urban areas, particularly those situated in the northern and
eastern states, are an important source of air pollution in the cities. For example, the
functioning of over1000 brick kilns around Delhi are considered a significant contributor
to air pollution in Delhi and nearby urban areas.48

44 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology at Chandigarh on 24 May 2016.
45 Gandhi S. 1987. Brick industry in India: energy use, tradition and development. Doctoral thesis submitted to

University of Cambridge
46 The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). 2016. Report on Resource Audit of Brick Kilns. New Delhi: TERI

[Project Report No. 2015IE22].

47 Cheryl Weyant, et al. 2014. Emissions from South Asian Brick Production. Environ. Sci. Technol., 48 (11):

6477–83.
48 Guttikunda S K and Calori G. 2013. A GIS based emission inventory at 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution for air

pollution analysis in Delhi, India. Atmospheric Environment 67: 101–111.

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 Loss of agricultural top soil and land degradation: About 750 MT of clay is consumed per
year to produce common burnt clay bricks. Part of this clay is river silt harvested from
rivers in the delta regions as well as clay obtained from the desilting of ponds, water tanks,
dams, etc. However, a large amount of clay is obtained by excavating agriculture fields
up to a depth of 2 metres. The areas from where clay is mined and located around urban
settlements get absorbed as the urban settlement expands. For instance, Vasant Kunj,
which is now a large and prominent residential locality in Delhi, was an important brick
making area 30–40 years ago. At several places in Indo-Gangetic plains where clay
depths are large, the mined area is put under agriculture. However, unplanned mining of
clay from agriculture fields is an environmental concern, particularly in peninsular India49
and results in the loss of top soil and land degradation.

Another important issue concerning the traditional brick industry is the issue of poor working
conditions and non-adherence to existing labour laws/regulations. On one hand, brick industry
is a major source of livelihood for more than 10 million migrant rural workers, on the other
hand, it is also known for practices such as paying advance through contractors to procure
workers, bonded labour,50 poor working conditions, and child labour.51 Issues like availability
of cheap labour, informal nature of the enterprises, lack of electricity have resulted in the slow
pace of mechanisation in the industry and lack of innovation.

2.2.2 Hollow and perforated burnt clay bricks

Production of perforated and hollow burnt clay brick requires mechanisation of the brick
shaping process using a machine called extruder. Compared to solid burnt clay bricks,
perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks require controlled drying and careful handling. As a
result, hollow and perforated bricks can only be manufactured in semi-mechanised or
mechanised brick-making plants.

A recent study has estimated that there are about 400 brick manufacturing units in the country,
which are equipped with extruders. These enterprises are mainly located in three southern
states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala; and in some other pockets like Balaghat
(Madhya Pradesh), Manipur, and around Chandigarh. However, only 45 of these enterprises
are producing perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks; rest of them are producing solid bricks

49 Dominik Noll. 2015. Socio-ecological Impacts of Brick Kilns in the Western Ghats: A socio-metabolic Analysis

of small-scale Brick Industries in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra, India. <[Link]
content/uploads/2016/11/[Link]> (accessed on 1 July 2017).
50 [Link] (accessed on 1 July

2017)
51 [Link]

(accessed on 1 July 2017)

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or roofing tiles. While perforated burnt clay bricks are mostly manufactured in north India
(Punjab, Haryana), hollow burnt clay bricks are manufactured mainly around Bengaluru and
Kerala. The total production of hollow and perforated bricks in the country is estimated at about
0.22 billion bricks a year in 2015. The production of perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks
has increased at 16% CAGR during 2011–15.52 While hollow burnt clay blocks are being
mostly used in high-rise residential buildings and individual housing; perforated burnt clay
bricks have their main market in institutional buildings followed by the individual housing. In
both the cases, the market for perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks is predominantly urban.

Wienerberger India Private Limited, a part of the world’s largest clay brick manufacturer
Wienerberger AG, is the largest manufacturer of hollow burnt clay bricks in the country with
an estimated production of 100 million standard bricks a year.53 The company has established
a modern hollow brick manufacturing facility at Kunigal near Bengaluru; the total investment
in India by the company is estimated at INR 200 crore.54

All the other manufacturers of perforated and hollow bricks in the country are much smaller in
size and are usually organised sector brick or roofing tile manufacturers who have diversified
into perforated and hollow brick production. The typical capital investment on plant and
machinery in these enterprises varies from INR 2 crore to 20 crore depending on the
technology choice, degree of mechanisation, and scale of production.

The key issues in the growth of perforated and hollow brick manufacturing industries are briefly
expalined below.

 Limited availability and high price: At present, manufacturing is limited only to certain
regions in the country. For example, while the region around Bengaluru is the main
market for hollow burnt clay blocks; perforated burnt clay bricks are mainly available in
the NCR and parts of Punjab and Haryana. Even in these regions, due to limited
production capacity and limited competition, the prices for these products are often high.
Almost all the existing burnt clay brick manufacturing enterprises, manufacture hollow
and perforated clay bricks as secondary products. For them, the primary product is
usually common burnt clay solid brick or roofing tile. Thus, their manufacturing facilities
are not optimised for hollow and perforated clay brick production, and none of the
producers (except Wienerberger) possess an integrated production line. Because of lack

52 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd (GKSPL) 2016. Market assessment of burnt clay resource efficient

bricks. Report prepared for UNDP-GEF-MoEFCC project on “Energy Efficiency Improvements in the Indian Brick
Industry”.
53 [Link]

innovative/articleshow/[Link] (accessed on 1 July 2017)

54 Ibid.

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of assured market, and lack of any financial support/low-cost financing options to

upgrade technology, the enterprises are hesitant to invest in integrated production lines.
 Shortage of trained manpower for construction: The products being new, there is limited
understanding about the right methods for using these products. In the case of hollow
blocks, the concerns range from laying of pipes and conduits to nailing. In the case of
perforated bricks, the right method of application to ensure holes not getting filled with
mortar is an issue. Shortage of trained manpower (masons and contractors) and right
tools for application acts as barriers.

2.2.3 Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Blocks

AAC block is a light-weight, precast building material. The raw materials for the production of
AAC blocks are fly ash, gypsum, cement, lime, and aluminium powder. The AAC block
manufacturing was introduced in India in 1970s but till 2008 the turnover of the industry was
small. It is estimated that the turnover of the AAC block industry in 2008 was INR 50 crore,
and in 2015 it is estimated to have grown to INR 2000 crore,55 and it is expected that the
industry turnover will rise to INR 5000 crore by 2020.56

It is estimated that in 2015, there were about 75 industrial units, all belonging to the organised
sector, manufacturing AAC blocks in the country, with a total installed production capacity
equivalent to about 6.3 billion standard size bricks a year (12 million m3/year). AAC block
manufacturing can be divided into two types of enterprises:

Enterprises that are part of an industrial house (e.g., cement manufacturers) or having
multiple AAC manufacturing units; the combined installed capacity of these types of
enterprises at the end of 2015 was around 2.6 billion bricks a year. These units are
generally doing better business.
Individual/stand-alone manufacturing units. Several of these units have issues related to
the quality of the product and are not doing well.

The top five states in terms of AAC production are Gujarat (main cluster around Surat),
Maharashtra (main cluster around Pune), Haryana, Telangana (main cluster around
Hyderabad), and West Bengal, contributing to 75% of the total installed production capacity.
The typical production capacity of AAC plants is 0.1 million m3 a year to 0.3 million m3 a year.
The typical investment for a plant having 0.1 million m3 a year capacity is INR 15–20 crore.

55 [Link] (accessed on 12

September 2016)
56 Ibid.

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The key issues concerning AAC block industry are mentioned below.

 An AAC manufacturing plant needs to be in the vicinity of thermal power plants for
uninterrupted supply of key raw material—fly ash at low cost (transportation costs) as
well as should be near to the large urban centres. AAC plants face competition from the
cement industry in the procurement of fly ash. Given these requirements, AAC
manufacturing is limited to only a few centres in the country.
 With increasing acceptance of the product in Indian construction activities, the AAC
block manufacturers registered continuous growth in total operating income over past
five years. However, on the contrary, profitability has shown declining trend due to
significant increase in installed capacities of AAC block in a short span of time together
with strong competition from cheaper clay bricks.
 In several of the markets, there are some concerns regarding crack formation, leakages,
etc. in the walls made from AAC blocks, which indicates the need for better quality
control during manufacturing and following right methods for application of the material.

2.2.4 Pulverised Fuel Ash Lime/Cement bricks

Broadly there are two types of pulverised fuel ash bricks

Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks are produced from raw materials consisting of pulverised
fuel ash as the major component with lime and an accelerator acting as a catalyst.
Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks are made from raw materials consisting of pulverised
fuel ash as the major component with cement acting as the binder.

As per CEA,57 only about 12 MT or 6.5% of the total fly ash generated was utilised for brick
making at the national level. In terms of scale and level of automation, the fly ash brick
manufacturing enterprises can be divided into two categories:

Semi-mechanised small production: The production capacity of these enterprises usually

ranges from 1000 to 10,000 bricks per day (annual production <20 lakh bricks/year). The
number of micro and small fly ash enterprises in the country in 2015 is estimated at
18,000,58 with a total installed capacity to produce 54 billion bricks a year.59 These are
semi-mechanised units in which most of the material handling is manual and the product

57 Central Electricity Authority. 2015. Report on fly ash generation at coal/lignite based thermal power stations

and its utilization in the country for the year 2014-15. New Delhi: Central Electricity Authority.
58 Bhanumatidas N and Kalidas N. 2016. FaL-G the unique E4 technology. Presentation at the Stakeholder

Workshop on Resource Efficient Walling Materials. Workshop organised by Greentech Knowledge Solutions, 7
June 2016. New Delhi.
59 Ibid.

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is cured by spraying water. The typical capital investment in plant and machinery for these
enterprises is INR 15–20 lakh.
Mechanised large production: The production capacity of these enterprises can range from
25,000 to 200,000 bricks per day (annual production 50 lakh to 5 crore bricks). The exact
number of such enterprises is not known, but most of such enterprises are located near or
within the premises of power plants, several of them are owned by the thermal power
plants themselves. The material handling in these enterprises are mechanised and in
some cases the curing is done using steam.

If fly-ash utilisation is converted into equivalent number of standard bricks, and after
accounting for fly ash consumption for AAC production, the annual production of pulverised
fuel ash cement/lime bricks is estimated at 8.36 billion bricks. The top three states in terms of
fly ash brick production are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

The key issues/barriers in the growth of fly ash brick industry are as follows:

 There is a large gap between the installed production capacity (about 60 billion
bricks/year) and the actual annual production (about 8 billion bricks/year) of fly ash
bricks, indicating the low utilisation of the installed capacity.
 The quality of bricks produced in semi-mechanised small enterprises is a big issue
because of lack of control over raw material quality, lack of technical knowledge
regarding the product chemistry among the owners/managers, reducing the period of
curing to save cost or due to shortage of water.
 Many fly ash brick manufacturers have reported loss in production because of shortage
of sand, due to ban on sand mining.60 61
According to several manufacturers, thermal
power plants prefer supplying fly ash to large consumers like cement plants. The
shortage of these two primary raw materials is one of the reasons for the low operating
capacity of the fly ash brick enterprises.
 There is uncertainty regarding potential adverse health effects resulting from exposure
to fly ash constituents and products made with it. Fly ash contains several components
that pose risks to human health (e.g., radioactive elements), and there are several ways
in which workers or the general public can get exposed (e.g., by handling fly ash at brick
production facilities, inhabiting buildings constructed using fly ash bricks). However,

60 [Link]
labourers-cuttack-64899 (accessed on 12 September 2017)
61 [Link]

ap-115071200776_1.html (accessed on 12 September 2017)

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there is limited understanding of the magnitude of the potential health impacts

associated with the production and use of fly ash bricks.62

2.2.5 Concrete Blocks

The basic raw materials for the manufacture of cement concrete blocks are cement, fine
aggregate (sand), and coarse aggregate. Wastes generated by stone crushers, quarrying, and
stone processing units can also be used as aggregates and have now become increasingly
common. Many of the concrete brick manufacturing units are in the informal sector, i.e., they
are either not registered or licensed to any official organisation. In terms of scale and level of
automation, the concrete block manufacturing enterprises can be divided into two categories:

Semi-mechanised small production: The production capacity of these enterprises usually

ranges from 100 to 2500 blocks per day (annual production <6 lakh blocks). In these units,
most of the material handling is manual and the product is cured by spraying water. The
typical capital investment in plant and machinery for these enterprises is INR 10–20 lakh.
Mechanised large production: The production capacity of these enterprises can range from
8000 to 32,000 blocks per day (annual production 24 lakh to 1 crore blocks). There are
only a few such enterprises. The material handling in these enterprises are mechanised
and in some cases the curing is done using steam.

Concrete blocks are manufactured throughout the country; but the usage is limited to a few
applications such as boundary walls and commercial complexes. In a few cities in south India
such as Chennai and Bangalore, these blocks are also used as infill material in the
construction of high-rise residential buildings.

2.2.6 Key issues with the manufacturing enterprises

One of the key issues about the manufacturing enterprises engaged in the production of
different types of bricks is that >90% of the production is contributed from enterprises
belonging to the unorganised sector. The common issues of these enterprises are listed
below.

 Technology obsolescence: In the case of unorganised burnt clay brick manufacturing

enterprises, the basic process of forming is manual and the brick kiln technologies in use
are at least 100 years old. In the case of other types of bricks, generally the forming
process are semi-mechanised but material handling is usually manual.

62 ABT Associates and TERI. 2016. Considerations on the Health Impacts of Coal Fly Ash Use in Brickmaking

and Building Construction in India. Report prepared for The Climate and Health Research Network.

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 Problems in the supply/procurement of raw materials: Clay brick enterprises in most parts
of the country are facing problems in getting access to brick earth for making bricks as
the arrangements for providing environment clearance for the mining of brick earth is still
not fully operational. The problem in clay procurement is particularly severe in states like
Kerala. On the other hand, fly ash enterprises have problems in procuring fly ash in
several states due to various reasons such as earmarking of the entire fly ash supply for
cement production and reluctance of power plants to supply fly ash to small producers.
Both fly ash brick enterprises and concrete block enterprises face problems in the
procurement of sand.
 Poor product quality: In the absence of an effective quality control and assurance system,
the quality of bricks available in the market is often poor. Burnt clay bricks have issues
related to efflorescence, high water absorption, and large variation in product size and
shape. In the case of fly ash bricks and concrete blocks, inadequate strength and high-
water absorption are often cited as problem areas.
 Poor working conditions: Burnt clay brick production is a seasonal industrial activity and
relies on migrant workers. Often the working and living conditions for workers are poor.
Similarly, in the case of fly ash brick production, there is inadequate protection for workers
handling fly ash.
 Difficulty in understanding and complying with the complex environment regulations: Most
of the owners of unorganised enterprises are not highly educated, also they do not have
educated and professionally trained managers or supervisors. They find it difficult to
understand complex environment regulations, e.g., environment clearance for the mining
of brick earth. The opaqueness of the implementation process leads them into the hands
of intermediaries to get necessary environment compliance. The issue of corruption in
State Pollution Control Boards has been acknowledged by the MoEFCC and is a matter
of concern63. In recent years, the number of litigations related with brick industry has
increased manifold and cases related with brick industry forms significant part of the
ongoing cases in the National Green Tribunal.
 Overcapacity and low profitability: There is significant over capacity for manufacturing of
bricks in certain regions. In states like Punjab, the installed burnt clay brick production
capacity is way above the required capacity, resulting in severe pressure on profitability.
In the case of fly-ash brick production, though the number of enterprises that have been
set up are estimated to be more than 20,000, the number of enterprises that are
operational is 10,000 or lower.

63 [Link]

offices/1092586 (accessed on March 11, 2018)

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The enterprises in the unorganised sector all over the country are under pressure to transform
into the organised sector and to comply with regulations on environment, mining, taxation,
transportation, workers, etc.

Environmental Policy

The main policies covered under this section are related to air pollution from brick kilns, fly
ash regulation, environment impact assessment for mining of minor minerals, and building
regulations.

2.3.1 Abatement of Air Pollution from Brick Kilns

[Link] Emission Standards for Brick Kilns

The first emission standards for brick kilns were notified in 1996. The standards specified
limiting particulate matter (PM) emission values in the stack gases of brick kilns. In addition,
the standards also specified the minimum height of the chimney for the dispersion of pollutants
for various types of kilns. A process to amend the emission standards for brick kilns was
initiated by the CPCB in 2009; a draft amendment was circulated by MoEFCC for comments
in 2015, but the revised standards are yet to be notified. While the existing standards are kiln
technology specific,64 i.e., ranging from 250 mg/Nm3 to 1200 mg/Nm3 (Table 2.6), it is expected
that the new standards will be the same across main kiln categories and would be stricter
(about 250 mg/Nm3).

Table 2.6. Particulate matter emission standards for brick kilns

Type of brick kiln Limiting concentration of particulate matter

(mg/Nm3)
Bull’s Trench Kiln (Small) 1000
Bull’s Trench Kiln (Medium and Large) 750
Down-draft kiln 1200
Vertical Shaft brick kiln 250

[Link] Directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Air Act, 1981 to State Pollution Control
Board regarding Controlling Air Pollution from Brick Kilns

In December 2015, the CPCB, under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Air Act 1981, issued directions
to State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) of states such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,

64 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). 2009. Environment (Protection) Fourth

Amendment Rules. <[Link] (accessed on 1 July 2017)

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Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Punjab to take steps to control air pollution from brick kilns.
These steps were proposed due to the worsening air quality in the NCR and other cities in
the region. The directives asked for:

 To ensure that no unauthorised brick kiln is allowed to operate.

 The existing FCBTK brick kilns should shift to zigzag kilns.65

Several SPCBs had since then issued notifications to implement these directives. The
Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has called for all brick kilns
operating in Delhi-NCR, estimated to be about 4000 in number, to shift to a ‘zigzag setting’.66

In a separate development, the Bihar SPCB directed all the brick kilns located in five blocks
adjoining the city of Patna to shift to cleaner brick kiln technologies in 2016. Further, the same
directive requires brick kilns throughout the state of Bihar to upgrade to cleaner brick
production technologies by August 2017. The order has been implemented in the five blocks
located around Patna and a summary of the experience is presented in Box 2.

Box 2: Implementation of directive to shift to cleaner brick kiln technologies in five blocks of
Patna district

In February 2016, Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) has directed all the brick kilns located
in five blocks of Patna district, namely Patna Sadar, Fatuah, Danapur, Fulwarisharif, and Maner, to
shift to cleaner brick production technologies before the commencement of next brick-making
season. By early 2017, out of the 190 brick kilns in these five blocks, 92 brick kilns shifted to cleaner
brick kiln technologies (71 to Natural draft zigzag kilns and 21 to induced draft zigzag kilns). The
progress of the implementation of this directive was tracked continuously by Greentech Knowledge
Solutions team, which also conducted awareness and training programmes to assist brick makers
with this transition.
Out of the 92 kilns that shifted to cleaner brick kiln technologies, 70%–75% were able to undergo the
shift quite well. A large majority among them reported satisfaction due to savings of more than 15%
in coal consumption and improvement in brick quality. The flue gas analysis at some of the kilns
showed considerable reduction in the CO emissions, indicating better/more complete combustion.
However, around 25%–30% of the kilns struggled with the change in technology and the operation
of the zigzag kilns. Most of these problems were related to the wrong design, construction, and
operation advice given by the technology providers. Following are the learnings from this experience:
 The experience strongly indicates the need for training and certifying a large number (in
hundreds) of technology providers in kiln construction and operation, if thousands of kilns were

65 The initial directive issued on 26 December 2015 asked for conversion of natural draught kilns into induced

draught kilns. Later the notices issued by SPCBs clarified that the conversion should be to zigzag kilns.
66 [Link] (accessed on 27

May 2017)

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to be reconstructed over a short period of time. Preparation and distribution of audio-visual

tools, training manuals, and guidance materials for brick kiln workers and staff to help them in
operation and troubleshooting of brick kilns operating on cleaner technologies are also
needed.
 The experience also indicated that as SPCBs have limited capacities, development of GIS
map-based tools can help in monitoring and tracking compliance of the directive. Simple
methodologies and low-cost tools for measuring emissions from large number of kilns are also
needed.
 The state government should take initiative to make the processes of getting environment
clearances/consent smooth and streamlined. For example, the District Environment Impact
Assessment Authority (DEIAA), which is the designated authority to issue environment
clearances (EC) to brick kilns, is not yet functional in most of the districts. And those kilns,
which do not have prior EC or their application is pending, could not get their ‘consent to
operate’ (CTO) certificate renewed from BSPCB. These kinds of discrepancies should be
resolved.

[Link] Suggestions for emission standards for brick kilns

The indications given by CPCB and MoEFCC officials suggest that the revised emission
standards are likely to reduce the limiting concentration of PM in stack gases to 250 mg/Nm3.
It also seems that to meet these standards the brick kilns are likely to adopt the simplest route,
i.e., they will change over to zigzag kilns. This would be a good starting point, but it would help
the industry, if like vehicles, the government can come up with a more ambitious roadmap for
emission standards for brick kilns. Assuming that the revised emission standards for brick kilns
will be notified in 2017, this would mean that a revision in the emission standards for brick
kilns has taken almost 21 years (as the last emission standards were revised in 1996). Given
that the Indian requirement for bricks will peak some time during 2032–37, there is a need to
revise the emission standards at much shorter time duration (after every 5–8 years).

Some of the specific suggestions, which can be considered while revising emission standards
(upcoming revision or future revision) for bricks kilns, are as follows:

 The standards for ‘new’ kilns (kilns established after a certain date) should be stricter
compared to the standards for the ‘existing’ kilns. While ‘existing’ kilns should be allowed
to operate after upgrading the technology, within a specified time period, to meet the
emission standards, the ‘new’ kilns, which will have longer operational life of 20–30
years, should be based on technologies having stricter emission standards. The logic
for this recommendation follows the emission standards for vehicles, where emission
standards for new vehicles are stricter, which allows the replacement of the vehicular

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fleet with less polluting vehicular stock over a period of time. In China67 and South Africa,
separate emission standards are specified for ‘existing’ and ‘new’ brick kilns.
 Instead of having technology-specific PM emission standards that vary from 250 to 1200
mg/Nm3), it is suggested that there should be one uniform standard of 250 mg/Nm3 for
all ‘existing’ brick kilns (except clamp kilns) and such kilns should reduce their PM
emissions to 250 mg/Nm3 and increase their stack height in a specified time period of 3
years. Therefore, it is possible for all existing kilns to adopt/retrofit to either natural or
induced draught zigzag kiln, Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) or other kiln technologies
(tunnel kiln, Hybrid Hoffmann Kiln, etc.) to meet the standard of 250 mg/Nm3. More
technological options can be added to this list after proper scientific evaluation.
 The standard for ‘new’ kilns (set up after a particular cut-off date, e.g., 1 January 2018)
should be 100 mg/Nm3. The standard of 100 mg/Nm3 for ‘new’ kilns is achievable by
using cleaner fuels (e.g., natural gas, producer gas, biogas; powdered coal as internal
fuel) and adopting cleaner kiln technologies. More technological options can be added
to this list after proper scientific evaluation. It should be noted that in South Africa68 the
emission standards for ‘new’ brick kilns (excluding clamp kilns) are at 50 mg/Nm3, while
for ‘existing’ brick kilns (excluding clamp kilns) are at 150 mg/Nm3. Similarly, in China,69
the proposed emission standards for ‘new’ brick kilns (drying and firing) are at 50
mg/Nm3, while for ‘existing’ brick kilns (drying and firing) are at 100 mg/Nm3.

2.3.2 Fly Ash Regulation

Most of the electricity production in India is based on coal. The combustion of coal in power
plants generates about 170 MT of fly ash every year. Safe disposal of this large amount of fly
ash is a major environmental challenge. The Government has been promoting its use for
various applications, including those for the manufacturing of cement and building materials.
The first regulation for fly ash utilisation was notified in 1999, which have subsequently been
revised in 2003, 2009, and 2016. As per the revised 2016 notification:

 All brick manufacturing units within the 300-km radius of a thermal power plant are
required to use fly ash for the manufacturing of bricks.

67 [Link] (accessed on 17
November 2015).
68[Link]

(accessed on 17 November 2015).

69
ESMAP. 2011. Introducing Energy-efficient Clean Technologies in the Brick Sector of Bangladesh. Report No.
60155-BD. Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /The World Bank Group
Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).

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 All cities having a population of more than 1 million to amend building bye-laws to make
the use of fly ash bricks mandatory.
 Further the use of fly-ash-based bricks and products is made mandatory in all
Government schemes or programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MNREGA), Swach Bharat Abhiyan, Urban and Rural
Housing Scheme, where the built-up area is more than 1000 square feet and in
infrastructure construction including buildings in designated industrial Estates or Parks or
Special Economic Zone.

Figure 2.9 shows the annual fly ash generation and utilisation. It is observed that in 2013, the
total fly ash utilisation was about 60% of the annual fly ash generation. As a result of the
regulation, the utilisation of fly ash has increased and cement industry has emerged as the
largest user of fly ash in the country. The annual utilisation of fly ash for manufacturing of
bricks is still small, only 7% (about 12 MT) of the annual fly ash generation. As pointed out
earlier, the fly-ash-based bricks constitute only 3%–5% of the total brick production.

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2008 2010 2012 2013

Flyash Generation (MT) Flyash Utilization(MT) Flyash Utilization ‐ Brick (MT)

Figure 2.9. Fly ash generation and utilisation (MT/year)

The fly ash availability is highly skewed among states (Figure 2.10).70 There are several states
having almost no or very little amount of fly ash available for brick making; hence, the provision
of making use of fly ash bricks mandatory throughout the country is not practical.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha have large
quantities of unutilised fly ash. In these states, there is potential to push up utilisation of fly

70 Ahmed, et al. 2016. Geographical spread of fly ash generation and residual potential for its utilization in India.
International Journal of Innovative Research and Review, 4(1): 8–19.

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ash for brick production. In states like Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, the fly ash
utilization is high; so these states have low scope for utilising fly ash for brick production.

Figure 2.10. Fly ash availability in the country

[Link] Issues with the fly ash regulation

There are two primary issues related with the fly ash regulation as far as brick production is
concerned.

The fly ash regulation has been framed as a national regulation but has not considered
the regional differences in the availability of fly ash. Given that in a large part of the country,
almost no or very little amount of fly ash is available for brick making, the provision of

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making the use of fly ash bricks mandatory in all cities having population in excess of 1
million or mandatory use of fly ash bricks for government construction throughout the
country does not seem practical. The fly ash regulation makes it mandatory for coal-based
thermal power plants to supply at least 20% of dry ESP fly ash free of charge to units
manufacturing fly ash or clay-fly ash bricks, blocks, and tiles on a priority basis over other
users. Most of the power plants at present are not meeting this requirement. Even if in the
best-case scenario all the thermal power plants are able to supply 20% dry ESP fly ash
for brick production, the total quantity of fly ash available for brick production will be about
35 MT a year, which will be sufficient for making 25–35 billion bricks per year or meet only
10% of the total current annual requirement for bricks. Thus, mandating only fly ash bricks
for construction is not the solution.

Without considering these facts, some of the states have issued notifications based on the
2016 fly ash notification. This has resulted in uncertainty/insecurity over planned
investments to manufacture other types of REBs such as burnt clay hollow and perforated
bricks.
The other issue with the fly ash regulation is the difficulty in implementing it, because of
the multiplicity of agencies responsible for its implementation (Figure 2.11).

Central Monitoring Committee Collecting reports on implementation from

Convener: MoEFCC states: CPCB and Regional offices of
Members: Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Mines, MoEFCC
Ministry of Power, CPCB, Central Electricity
Authority (CEA), Department of Science and
CPWD and other public builders for the use
Technology, Building Materials Technology
of fly ash bricks in the public construction
Promotion Council
NTPC for supply of fly ash from thermal
power generation

State Monitoring Committee Collecting reports on implementation:

Convener: DoEF SPCB
Members: Department of Mines, Department State thermal power generation companies
of Power, SPCB, Road and Building (e.g., Mahagenco in Maharashtra) for supply
Construction. of fly ash from thermal power generation

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Department of Urban Development, Town and State Pollution Control Boards for ensuring
Country Planning, Municipal Corporations, fly ash utilisation in brick manufacturing
Development Authorities for the units
implementation of revision in building bye-
laws and their implementation

State PWDs, Rural Development, Housing

departments for the use of fly ash bricks in
the public construction

Figure 2.11. Implementation mechanism for fly ash regulation

The notification relies to a great extent on the revision of building bye-laws for making
mandatory the use of fly ash bricks. If this is to be implemented, better coordination with the
Ministry of Urban Development and Town and Country Planning Office as well as municipal
authorities (who play an important role in revision of building bye-laws) is required. In the
present implementation structure, they are not represented in the central committee and
similar state- and municipal-level organisations are not represented in the state-level
committee.

The fly ash regulation needs to be reworked taking into account the issues of availability
of fly ash and demand for building products. It also needs simplification for easy
implementation.

Box 3: The Fly Ash Brick Industry in Bihar

Excerpts from “The Fly Ash Brick Industry in Bihar” by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, Bihar
State Pollution Control Board and Development Alternatives.

Field study conducted in Bihar to understand the present scenario of the fly ash brick industry
indicates that the sector has seen an upsurge of fly ash brick production units since 2012. The
number of fly ash brick enterprises in the state has grown from 25 in 2014 to 129 in 2016. Analysis
from the survey reveal that only 46 out of the 129 fly ash brick enterprises remained functional
(currently in operation) while the rest of the units were either non-functional or shut down due to lack
of market demand.

Fly ash brick makers face several barriers to entry, including a lack of market demand, negative
mindset regarding fly ash bricks, lack of fiscal incentives, problems with fly ash sourcing, and lack of
regulation, leading to market uncertainty and awareness.

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2.3.3 Environment Impact Assessment for Mining of Brick Earth

Through a notification issued in 2012 by the MoEFCC, the excavation of brick earth for the
production of burnt clay bricks is permissible only after prior environment clearance from the
respective State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA). Through a notification
issued in January 2016, the MoEFCC has instructed the formation of District-level
Environment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) for grant of environmental clearance for
Category ‘B2’ Projects for mining of minor minerals (applicable to brick earth). For the
purposes of assisting DEIAA, the notification also instructs constitution of the District-level
Expert Appraisal Committee for all the districts of the country (DEAC for the district). Before
the January 2016 notification, several SEIAAs had started granting environment clearances
for brick enterprises. However, the process of providing clearances has slowed since then, as
the formation DEIAA and DEAC is still in progress. Several environmentalists have raised
issues regarding the composition of the DEIAA and the DEAC, particularly on the lack of
environment expertise and hence their inadequacy to protect the environmental requirements
of ecosystems in granting clearances for mining of minor minerals.71

The provisions of environment clearance limit the depth of clay mining to a maximum of 3 m;
they also do not allow two mining locations to be within a distance of 500 m. It also puts the
onus of rehabilitation of the mined land on the agency involved in mining. As in most of the
cases, the environment clearance is being given based on an affidavit by the brick kiln owners
to follow best practices, it is yet to be seen whether the brick makers would follow the best
practices on mining and rehabilitation after getting the necessary environment clearance.

Once again just like fly ash regulation, the intent of having environment impact assessment
for mining of brick earth is for the benefit of the environment, but lack of institutional capacities
at the district level and the way in which it is being implemented has raised a question mark
on its effectiveness. Also, the complex paperwork for getting environment clearance means
that brick kilns must hire the services of consultants for the paperwork and bear substantial
additional expenditure. The number of cases in the NGT regarding brick kilns has gone up
significantly, adding further regulatory risks for new investment in the modernisation of the
sector.

71[Link]
mining-3053156/ (accessed on 1 April 2017)

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2.3.4 Model building bye-laws

The model building bye-laws issued by the Town and Country Planning Office (TCPO),
Ministry of Urban Development in section 10.2.6, which is titled as “Sustainability of Building
Materials”, states that:

“Sustainability of natural resources for building materials shall be ensured through

conservation of available natural resources and use of supplementary materials such as
industrial/agricultural by-products, renewable resources, factory made building components
and recycled construction and demolition waste. Supplementary building materials (derived
or processed waste) shall be suitably used in combination with conventional resources offers
dual advantages in purview of health & environmental benefits.

Use of Factory made pre-fab/pre-cast and recycled components with Green benefits: a)
Panels, hollow slabs, hollow blocks, etc. - conservation of materials, less water requirement.
b) Fly Ash bricks, Portland Pozzolana cement, Fly ash concrete, phosphogypsum based
walling & roofing panels, particle wood – recycled use of industrial/ agricultural by-products.
c) Fly ash/ AAC (Autoclaved aerated light weight concrete) panels/ CLC (Cellular light weight
concrete) panels- ensures thermal comfort (significant reduction in air conditioning
requirement) d) Use of bamboo & rapidly growing plantation timbers - environmental benefits.

Local materials are generally suitable for prevailing geo-climatic conditions & have advantage
of low transportation cost & time. Sustainable use of building materials shall be encouraged
which may combine certain mandatory provisions and incentives.”

These bye-laws refer to the fly ash notification of the MoEFCC and make use of fly-ash-based
bricks mandatory in all buildings having built-up area >20,000 m2.

2.3.5 Other programmes and policies

MoEFCC-UNDP-GEF project on Energy Efficiency Improvements in Indian Brick

Industry: The project, which operated from 2009 to 2016, was aimed at promoting the
manufacturing and use of perforated and hollow burnt-clay bricks, which can result in 20%–
50% reduction in the quantity of clay as well as fuel and have better insulation properties. The
project worked on creating awareness about the benefits of perforated and hollow burnt-clay
bricks as well as worked with about 20 brick-making units involved in the manufacturing of
perforated and hollow burnt-clay bricks.

BEE programme for improving energy efficiency in MSME clusters: The programme aims
at taking demonstration, pilot dissemination activities to promote energy efficiency in MSME

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clusters. One of the identified clusters is Varanasi brick kiln cluster, in which BEE supporting
10 brick kilns to change over from FCBTK to zigzag firing. The progress of the project has
been very slow and its reach is miniscule considering the large number of bricks kilns.

State-level policies promoting production of alternate walling materials: Some of the

states, such as Bihar and Odisha, are providing incentives for setting up of manufacturing
units for the production of fly-ash-based walling materials. Odisha has about 1000 fly ash
brick-making units. The fly ash brick manufacturing units come under green category and are
exempted from environmental clearance.72 Since 2012, fly ash bricks have been included in
the Schedule of Rates of the state Public Works Department (PWD), which makes the
procurement of fly ash bricks for Government construction possible. Further, the state
government had decided that fly ash bricks conforming to relevant BIS (Bureau of Indian
Standards) specifications will be used in the construction of all government buildings located
within a radius of 100 km of fly ash generating units. The District Industry Centres in the state
are providing technical support and helping industries to access bank finance. The Bihar
government is providing 20% subsidy for setting up fly-ash-based brick manufacturing plants
to promote utilisation of fly ash in walling material production. There are about 100 fly ash
brick-making units that have been set up in the state.

Housing for All

Urban: The urban scheme aims at constructing 2 crore houses by 2022.73 The scheme is
being coordinated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA) and has
provision for undertaking construction of mass housing projects through public and private
builders/agencies as well as providing financial assistance to beneficiary-led individual house
construction or enhancement. A Technology Sub-mission has been set up (being coordinated
by Building Material Technology Promotion Council [BMTPC]) to facilitate the adoption of
modern, innovative, and green technologies and building material for faster and quality
construction of houses for the mass housing segment. The technology sub-mission is
expected to coordinate with various regulatory and administrative bodies for mainstreaming
and upscaling deployment of modern construction technologies and materials in place of
conventional construction. Going through the minutes of the first few meetings of the
technology sub-mission,74 it seems that the focus of the sub-mission is on new industrial

72[Link]

Returns/2016/04/11/[Link] (accessed on 1 April 2017)

73[Link]

housing/ (accessed on 14 June 2017)

74 [Link]

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technologies for construction (including walling) of mass housing. Some of these are listed
below.

 Monolithic concrete construction system

 Expanded polystyrene core panel system
 Industrialised 3-S System using precast RCC columns, beams and cellular light-weight
concrete precast RCC slabs
 Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panel building system
 Factory-made fast-track modular building system
 Light Gauge Steel Framed Structures (LGSF)

Masonry construction using REBs does not seem to figure on the agenda of the technology
sub-mission. An analysis of nine mass housing projects taken by Rajkot Municipal Corporation
(RMC)75 shows that only one project is using the new industrial technology (monolithic
concrete construction) and the remaining eight are using masonry brick construction mainly
using AAC blocks. This points out to the need for more focus on REBs in the Technology Sub-
mission.

Rural: The rural scheme is being coordinated by the Ministry of Rural Development and aims
at providing financial assistance to 1 crore households for the construction of pucca houses
under the project during the period from 2016/17 to 2018/19.76 Unlike the urban scheme, this
scheme aims at using locally available building materials. It promotes the use of compressed
stabilised earth blocks and fly ash bricks produced under MGNREGA. No information is
available on the use of these bricks in the programme.

Green Building Rating System

Use of the green walling materials is one of the parameters promoted by the Green Building
rating systems such as IGBC and GRIHA. However, there is no agreement on the definition
of ‘green’ walling materials and in practice the main parameter to define these ‘green’ materials
seem to be solely based on the content of waste/recycled material, such as fly ash.

2.3.6 Conclusions on policy framework

The above discussion shows that there are a variety of gaps that exist in the existing policy
framework. These gaps coupled with the absence of a national policy framework for REBs

75 Ashok B Lall Architects and GKSPL. 2017. Position paper on resource efficient low carbon affordable housing.

Paper supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

76 [Link]

awaas-yojana-gramin-to-achieve-housing-for-all-by-2022/ (accessed on 1 May 2017)).

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make the task of moving towards an REB future uncertain and slow. The main gaps in the
policy framework are as follows:

a) Lack of a comprehensive view on REBs: The policy lacks a comprehensive view on REBs.
In practice, the policy is only aiming at parts; for example, reduction in air pollution
(emission from brick kilns) or promoting use of fly ash in brick making. It lacks a common
understanding of REBs and a clear and strong link between the policy for the production
of REBs and the policy for developing a market for the same.
An analysis of the policy framework in China (refer Box 3 for details), which seems to
have made progress in introducing new walling materials and in reducing specific energy
consumption and emissions from its brick industry, indicates a clear link between
production of REBs (supply side) and energy-efficient building construction (demand side)
from the beginning and a multi-pronged policy approach covering aspects such as
finance, R&D, and energy and environment standards. It also indicates that the
transformation in the brick industry is a long-term process. In China, the process started
in 1992 and is still ongoing.
b) Complex and difficult to implement regulations: As pointed out in the case of fly ash
regulation, it seems that the regulation was framed without taking into account either the
regional differences in raw material availability or the institutional arrangements/capacities
for its implementation in the states. Devolution of environment impact assessment for the
mining of minor minerals to the district level does not take into account the issue of scarce
implementation capacities at the district level. Experience suggests that complex
implementation arrangements lead to inefficiencies and give rise to corrupt practices.
There is a need for broader consultations with experts as well as with representatives
from states and districts during policy formulation, to result in simpler and easy-to-
implement policies and regulations.
c) Long delay in the formulation of regulations/policies: As explained, the process of revision
of emission standards for brick kilns has taken over eight years and the revised emission
norms are yet to be notified. In the meantime, the worsening air quality problem in northern
India has resulted in ad hoc decisions by SPCBs to control air pollution from brick kilns.
A timely revision of the emission standards could have avoided the confusion and the
need for taking ad hoc decisions by SPCBs.
d) Lack of coherence between policies: There is lack of coordination between and among
different ministries involved in the framing of regulations, particularly those related with
building regulations. This is explained by a few examples below:
- The fly ash utilization policy, 2016, calls for ‘all cities having a population of more than
1 million to amend building bye-laws to make the use of fly ash bricks mandatory’,

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presumably for all types of buildings. The model building bye-laws, 2016, proposes
making use of fly ash bricks mandatory only for large building projects having a built-
up area of >20,000 m2.
- The fly ash regulation makes the use of fly ash bricks mandatory in all Government
rural and urban housing projects having a built-up area of >1000 m2. A notification by
MoUD,77 has made it mandatory for Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Delhi
Development Authority (DDA), and National Building Construction Corporation
(NBCC) to use monolithic concrete construction or industrialised 3-S system using
cellular light-weight concrete slabs and precast columns in all projects (presumably
including mass housing projects) having construction value of more than INR 100
crore.
e) Lack of capacities at the state-/district-levels to implement environment policies and
regulations: This aspect has been explained while discussing emission standards
(inadequate capacities at SPCBs) and environment impact assessment for mining (at
district level).
f) Absence of key elements in the government policies: Three elements that stand out are
listed below:
- Though brick manufacturing employs more than 10 million workers, and the industry
is expected to both expand and modernise in the coming decades, brick
manufacturing does not seem to be a part of the National Skills Development Mission.
- Absence of dedicated financing facility for the modernisation of brick industry. Unlike
several other large industrial sectors like Technology Upgradation Fund for textile
industry, no such fund or financing scheme exists for the brick sector.
- Absence of a dedicated technical assistance programme for making available
technical assistance and technical training to brick manufacturing enterprises as well
as training on application of REBs.
- Absence of R&D programme on brick manufacturing technologies or development of
REBs.

77[Link] (accessed on 7
June 2017).

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Box 4: Chinese policy framework for walling materials78 79

China is the largest producer of bricks in the world. In 2004, Chinese brick production was estimated
at 900 billion bricks a year. The solid burnt clay brick is the main walling material in China, like in
India. In 2004, it was estimated that solid burnt clay bricks made up for 65% of the brick production.
China has been promoting new types of bricks such as hollow burnt clay bricks, fly ash bricks, and
AAC blocks and is aiming to raise the contribution of these new bricks to 60% by 2030. The Chinese
policy on bricks has several aspects and has evolved over a period of time:

1992: Circular GF [1992] No 66: First policy statement on the need to accelerate transition to new
walling materials and promote energy efficient buildings. This was followed by several policy actions:
- Policy on restriction of solid burnt clay bricks in identified regions and urban areas
- Preferential tax policies for new walling materials
- Strengthening of institutions for R&D and for providing technical support to brick industry
- Emission standards for brick kilns
- Policy on phasing out of kilns based on outdated technologies
- Energy consumption standards for brick kilns
2007: 11th Five-year plan on brick and tile industry in China
2010: Aim to have 40% of the total walling materials as new walling materials

Several ministries and departments have played a key role in policy formulation and implementation,
which includes Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Development and Reform
Commission, State Economic and Trade Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science and
Technology, State Administration of Taxation, State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision,
Construction Material Bureau, etc.

Conclusion

The main conclusions that can be drawn regarding the status of market, manufacturing
industry, and policy framework for bricks are as follows:

1. The market of bricks shows wide variations across the country. These variations are
mainly influenced by geographical region (based primarily on raw material availability)
and within a geographical region by factors such as type of building projects (urban/rural,
intended use, scale, agency responsible for the construction, etc.). The country can be
divided into three geographical regions in terms of brick market:

78 ESMAP. 2011. Introducing Energy Efficient Clean Technologies in the Brick Sector of Bangladesh.

[Link]
.pdf (accessed on 10 August 2017)
79 Heierli and Maithel S. 2008. Brick by Brick: The Herculean Task of Cleaning Up the Asian Brick Industry.

Berne: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

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- Himalayan and North-eastern states (except Assam and Tripura): Burnt clay bricks
dominate the market in the western Himalayan region bordering the Indo-Gangetic
plains. In the North-eastern states, concrete blocks also have significant market
share.
- Indo-Gangetic plains, Assam and Tripura: Burnt clay bricks are the predominant
brick type. AAC blocks, fly ash bricks, and concrete blocks are used in smaller
quantities mainly in urban centres.
- Peninsular, desert, and coastal India: This is a diverse region, in which in some
areas burnt clay bricks dominate the market (e.g., north Rajasthan, Madurai) but
then there are pockets where solid concrete blocks (e.g., Karnataka), AAC blocks
(e.g., Pune, Surat) and fly ash bricks (e.g., parts of Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh) have large market shares.
2. The total production of bricks (2014/15) of different types is estimated to be 274 billion
bricks a year. Solid burnt clay bricks have the largest production share (~89%); other
alternative bricks such as concrete blocks, pulverised fuel-ash lime/cement bricks, and
hollow and perforated burnt clay bricks together make up for the rest of the market. The
market for alternative bricks, particularly AAC blocks, has grown during the past decade.
3. The manufacturing industry for the production of bricks is spread throughout the country.
The total number of manufacturing enterprises is estimated to range between 2,50,000
and 3,00,000. Majority of the enterprises (>98% in number of units and contributing to
>90% of the production) can be characterised as belonging to the unorganised industrial
sector. The unorganised sector enterprises face issues of:
- Low level of mechanisation and technology obsolescence
- Uncertainty/problems in the supply/procurement of raw materials such as brick
earth, fly ash, and sand
- Poor product quality
- Labour relations based on casual employment and/or social relationships as
opposed to formal contracts and poor working conditions, reliance on migrant
workers, bonded and child labour
- Difficulty in understanding and complying with the complex environment regulations
and a large number of ongoing litigations.
- Overcapacity and low profitability: There is significant over-capacity for
manufacturing of bricks in certain regions. In states like Punjab, the installed burnt
clay brick production capacity is way above the required capacity, resulting in
severe pressure on profitability. In the case of fly-ash brick production, though the
number of enterprises is estimated to be over 20,000, only about 10,000 are
operational.

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4. The main policies that relate to the environmental impact of the brick industry are air
pollution regulation for brick kilns, fly ash regulation, environment impact assessment for
mining of minor minerals, and building regulations/building bye-laws. There are a variety
of gaps that exist in the existing policy framework. These gaps coupled with the absence
of a national policy framework for REBs portray an uncertain and slow future for REBs.
The main gaps in the policy framework are as follows:
- Lack of a comprehensive view on REBs
- Complex and difficult to implement regulations
- Incompatibility/lack of coherence between policies
- Lack of capacities at the states/districts to implement environment policies and
regulations
- Absence of policy interventions in the areas of skill development, financing,
technical assistance, R&D, and training.

The next chapter deals with defining resource efficiency in bricks and comparing various
types of brick on resource efficiency parameters.

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3 Resource Efficient Bricks

Parameters to define Resource Efficiency

Till now environment policy and regulation has been piecemeal, guided by a specific
environment objective, be it air pollution or fly ash utilisation. To develop a comprehensive
environment policy on bricks, a more integrated understanding of various environment issues
is required. The resource efficiency framework developed in this study is an attempt to develop
such an understanding.

Resource efficiency is defined as ‘using the earth’s limited resources in a sustainable manner
while minimizing impacts on the environment.’80 The resource efficiency framework for bricks
in this study covers various stages of the life cycle of bricks and comprises four quantifiable
parameters.
1. Primary material consumption is the quantity of virgin material (kg/m3 of bricks) used for
the manufacturing of bricks
2. Primary energy (MJ/m3 of bricks) used in the manufacturing of bricks
3. Carbon dioxide emission (tCO2/m3 of bricks) during the manufacturing of bricks
4. Air pollution caused in the form of particulate matter emissions (g/m3 of bricks) during the
manufacturing of bricks

Resource efficiency parameters have been computed for different types of bricks. For burnt
clay bricks, the data has been collected by monitoring of manufacturing units, while for other
types of bricks it is based on data reported in literature and provided by the industries.

The chosen parameters have high relevance in the Indian context, given the large scale of
construction likely to take place in the immediate future. Also, for all these parameters, data is
available to quantify them. However, there is scope to further enlarge the resource efficiency
framework by incorporating aspects such as the ones listed below.

 Thermal conductivity (W/m-K) of the brick, which has an influence on the heat gain or
loss through the external walls of a building and hence on the energy use for cooling or
heating of the building.
 Transport requirement – when brick manufacturing units are located at a place where the
raw material can be obtained locally, and the building construction site is not far away, it

80 [Link] (accessed on 16 March 2017)

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reduces the requirement of transportation, which has an influence on the fuel

consumption
 Reusability
 Recyclability, etc.

The parameters that are covered in this study and those that need to be further incorporated
in future have been indicated in the life cycle diagram in Figure 3.12.

Figure 3.12. Parameter chart of resource efficient bricks

3.1.1 Methodology for walling material comparison on resource efficiency parameters

In the following sections, each of the resource efficiency parameter covered in this study has
been discussed. In each section, various types of bricks have been compared on each of the
resource efficiency parameter. The numerical values are presented in tabular forms. The
values provided in these tables are indicative numbers, based on field survey/monitoring
carried by the project team or are taken from literature.

The values are colour coded: the values that lie above the resource efficiency benchmark
value have been marked red and the values that lie below the benchmark have been marked
green. The resource efficiency benchmark values and their rationale are given in Table 3.7.
Further, it is proposed that all bricks that meet the resource efficiency benchmark values can
be defined as REBs.

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Table 3.7. Resource efficiency benchmark values

Parameter Resource efficiency Rationale

benchmark
Mined raw material 1320 kg/m3 25% reduction from baseline value
Primary energy 1560 MJ/m3 25% reduction from baseline value
(manufacturing)
CO2 emission 0.14 tCO2/m3 25% reduction from baseline value
(manufacturing)
PM emission 828 g/m3 Corresponding to the SPM concentration of
(manufacturing) 250 mg/Nm3 in stack gases as proposed in
the draft revised national emission
standards for brick kilns

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3.1.2 Primary material consumption

The extraction of natural resources has negative environmental impacts in the form of
depletion of non-renewable resources, degradation of land, rivers, forests, etc. Also, the
machinery for mining and transportation of raw materials use fossil fuels, resulting in air
pollution and CO2 emissions. Thus, less primary material requirement is one of the criteria that
defines an REB. While computing primary material requirement, the quantity of waste material
has been deducted from the total material requirement.

The values for mined raw materials for different materials are tabulated in Table 3.8. It is
observed that the highest primary material requirement is for solid concrete block (2153 kg/m3)
while the lowest is almost 1/10th for AAC blocks (224 kg/m3). Bricks such as AAC blocks, CLC
blocks, and burnt clay hollow blocks, which are low in density; and bricks that use waste
materials such as pulverized fuel ash (Fly ash); are examples of bricks requiring less primary
material.

Table 3.8. Primary material consumption of different bricks

Resource Efficiency Parameters

Mined raw
Parameters
material
Units kg/m3
Solid burnt clay- FCBTK (Baseline) 1760
Solid burnt clay fly ash - FCBTK 1009
Solid burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 1760
Perforated burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 1584
Hollow clay blocks - Tunnel kiln 815
Autoclaved aerated concrete blocks 224
Cellular light-weight concrete 338
Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks 450
Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks 711
Solid concrete blocks 2153
Hollow concrete blocks 1615
Compressed stabilised earth blocks 1976
Construction and demolition waste
bricks 540

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3.1.3 Primary energy used in manufacturing

Burnt-clay bricks consume fuels such as coal, pet coke, and biomass for the firing process of
bricks in brick kilns. Similarly, cement used for manufacturing bricks/blocks uses fuel and
electricity for its production. Bricks that consume less energy (fuel and/or electricity) in their
manufacturing process fulfill one of the criteria for REBs. Table 3.9 provides the estimates for
manufacturing energy consumption for different bricks/blocks.

Solid burnt clay bricks fired in FCBTK has the highest primary energy consumption (2080
MJ/m3), while hollow concrete blocks (581 MJ/m3) and CSEB (653 MJ/m3) consume 1/3rd the
primary energy and perform best amongst all the bricks on this parameter.

Table 3.9. Primary energy consumption for manufacturing of different bricks

Resource Efficiency Parameters

Primary energy –
Parameters
manufacturing
Units MJ/m3
Solid burnt clay- FCBTK (Baseline) 2080
Solid burnt clay fly ash - FCBTK 1558
Solid burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 1680
Perforated burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 1512
Hollow clay blocks - Tunnel kiln 1275
Autoclaved aerated concrete blocks 1276
Cellular light-weight concrete 1003
Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks 1025
Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks 811
Solid concrete blocks 774
Hollow concrete blocks 581
Compressed stabilised earth blocks 653
Construction and demolition waste
bricks 1533

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3.1.4 CO2 emissions

Fossil fuels such as coal and pet coke, and electricity generated using fossil fuels (coal, natural
gas, diesel) are used for manufacturing bricks. All these fuels emit CO2 during combustion due
to the presence of carbon in them. CO2 is a greenhouse gas (GHG) – one of the major causes
of global warming – that creates significant negative impact to the environment. Bricks that
consume less amount of fossil fuels and/or electricity fulfills one of the important criteria of
resource efficiency. Table 3.10 provides the estimates for CO2 emissions during
manufacturing of different bricks/blocks.

Solid burnt clay bricks (0.19 tCO2/m3) have the highest CO2 emissions, while pulverised fuel
ash-lime bricks (0.08 tCO2/m3) and solid concrete blocks have the lowest CO2 emissions
perform the best amongst all the bricks on this parameter.

Table 3.10. CO2 emission during manufacturing of different bricks

Resource Efficiency Parameters

CO2 emission -
Parameters
manufacturing
Units tCO2/m3
Solid burnt clay- FCBTK (Baseline) 0.19
Solid burnt clay fly ash - FCBTK 0.14
Solid burnt clay- Zigzag kiln 0.15
Perforated burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 0.14
Hollow clay blocks - Tunnel kiln 0.12
Autoclaved aerated concrete blocks 0.14
Cellular light-weight concrete 0.15
Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks 0.08
Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks 0.12
Solid concrete blocks 0.12
Hollow concrete blocks 0.09
Compressed stabilised earth blocks 0.10
Construction and demolition waste
bricks 0.24

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3.1.5 Stack Air Pollution (Particulate Material Emissions)

Traditional brick kilns consume large amount of fuel; burning of these fuels, gives rise to air
pollution in the form of sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter, etc.
The air pollution has negative impact on human health. Inefficient combustion produces higher
air pollution. Bricks that produce less air pollution during manufacturing fulfills one of the
criteria of REBs. Table 3.11 provides the estimates for PM emissions for different
bricks/blocks. Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks perform the best amongst all the building
materials in this parameter. It is to be noted that this parameter has been evaluated based
only on the air pollution measured in stack and does not consider fugitive emissions, which
could be significant in all types of brick production.

Table 3.11. Particulate matter emission during manufacturing of different bricks

Resource Efficiency Parameters

PM emission -
Parameters
manufacturing
Units g/m3
Solid burnt clay- FCBTK (Baseline) 1888
Solid burnt clay fly ash - FCBTK 1547
Solid burnt clay- Zigzag kiln 368
Perforated burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 331
Hollow clay blocks - Tunnel kiln 178
Autoclaved aerated concrete blocks 151
Cellular light-weight concrete 210
Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks 83
Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks 161
Solid concrete blocks 167
Hollow concrete blocks 125
Compressed stabilised earth blocks 139
Construction and demolition waste
bricks 327

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Conclusions

A comparison of various types of bricks on resource efficiency parameters is presented in

Table 3.12. The main conclusions that can be drawn are as follows:

 There are several types of bricks, which can be classified as REBs. AAC block, fly ash
brick, and hollow burnt clay block meet all four resource efficiency parameters and can be
taken as examples of REBs.
 Solid burnt clay fly ash brick, perforated burnt clay brick, CLC block, hollow concrete block,
and CSEB meet several criteria and with improvements in the production process can
become options of REBs.
 Solid burnt clay bricks perform poorly on most of the resource efficiency parameters.
However, moving away from the production of solid burnt clay bricks in traditional kilns to
hollow and perforated burnt clay bricks fired in efficient kilns results in significant
improvements in resource efficiency parameters.

Table 3.12. Resource efficiency comparison table

Resource Efficiency Parameters

Mined
Primary energy CO2 emission PM emission
Parameters raw
manufacturing manufacturing manufacturing
material
Units kg/m3 MJ/m3 tCO2/m3 g/m3
Solid burnt clay- FCBTK (Baseline) 1760 2080 0.19 1888
Solid burnt clay fly ash - FCBTK 1009 1558 0.14 1547
Solid burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 1760 1680 0.15 368
Perforated burnt clay - Zigzag kiln 1584 1512 0.14 331
Hollow clay blocks - Tunnel kiln 815 1275 0.12 178
Autoclaved aerated concrete blocks 224 1276 0.14 151
Cellular light-weight concrete 338 1003 0.15 210
Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks 450 1025 0.08 83
Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks 711 811 0.12 161
Solid concrete blocks 2153 774 0.12 167
Hollow concrete blocks 1615 581 0.09 125
Compressed stabilised earth blocks 1976 653 0.10 139
Construction and demolition waste
bricks 540 1533 0.24 327

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4 Roadmap to Resource Efficient Brick future

Future Demand

The projection of demand for brick till 2047 has been carried out. The framework used in NITI
Aayog’s India Energy Security Scenarios to project future building stock is used as the basis for
making the projections.

4.1.1 Methodology

The methodology for estimating the future demand is shown in Figure 3.13 and explained in the
subsequent paragraphs.

Figure 3.13. Methodology for estimating future demand for bricks

The total brick demand is assumed to be composed of two main categories:

Demand of bricks for construction of walls in the new construction of buildings (urban
residential buildings, rural residential buildings, and commercial buildings)

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Demand for bricks for ‘other’ applications (paving, flooring, boundary walls, construction of
dams and sewers, lining of canals, etc.)

The demand of bricks for the construction of buildings has been estimated by

1. First estimating the built-up area requirement for residential urban, residential rural, and
commercial buildings, for 7.4% CAGR of GDP option using NITI Aayog’s India Energy
Security Scenarios. The built-up area has been calculated for the block of five years starting
from 2012–17 to 2042–47.
2. The built-up area calculated above has been multiplied by 360 bricks/m2 to get the brick
requirement. The average requirement of 360 standard size bricks per m2 of floor space area
has been based on the calculations of the volume of walls (external and internal walls) for
different types of house construction mentioned in the census (refer Annexure 2). Though
these calculations are for residential construction, the same number has been used for the
commercial buildings as well.

360 ∗ 2

The demand for bricks for ‘other’ applications has been estimated as follows:

Demand of bricks for other forms of construction includes use of bricks for applications such as
paving, flooring, construction of dams and sewers, boundary walls, and lining of canals. An earlier
study by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and Centre for
Symbiosis of Technology, Environment and Management (STEM)81 has estimated the brick
demand for other forms of construction at 37%. Considering that in recent years, many new
materials are being used for other construction, particularly use of concrete has increased for
applications like paving, canal and drain construction, in this study the brick demand for other
forms of construction is assumed as 25% of the total brick demand for the entire period till 2047.

0.25 ∗

81BMPTC and STEM. 2000. Housing & Key Building Materials in India: A Long-Term Perspective: [Link]
Delhi: BMTPC and STEM

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4.1.2 Projected demand for bricks

The results of the analysis in the form of projected brick demand (billion bricks/year) for different
end-use applications are shown in Figure 4.14. The main conclusions of the analysis are as
follows:

1. The average annual demand for bricks during 2012–17 is estimated at 294 billion bricks a
year. It is to be noted that the calculated demand (based on data on construction and
economic growth) is higher compared to the estimated production (based on data on
production from brick enterprises) of 274 billion bricks per year for all types of bricks and
blocks. This should be considered a good agreement given the fact that 40% of the rural
residential housing requirement during 2012–17 is met by kuccha and semi-pucca houses,
as per the IESS data given by NITI Aayog, using materials such as biomass and stones. The
average annual demand for bricks is estimated to increase and reach to a peak of about 1000
billion bricks a year during the 2032–37 period. This would be 250% increase over the
demand for 2012–17 period. After 2032–37 period, the average annual demand for bricks will
reduce and is estimated to decline to 760 billion bricks a year for 2042–47 period. The
expected rapid increase and peaking of demand in 2032–37 underlines the need for
immediate action to regulate new manufacturing capacities to be resource efficient.
2. During 2012–17, rural residential demand accounts for 38% of the total demand for bricks;
this is going to decrease to around 25% by 2032–37 and less than 10% by 2042–47. Overall,
if a major part of the brick demand for ‘other’ category is assigned to the rural sector, it can
be concluded that at present the rural:urban demand is roughly 50:50. By 2032–37, the
demand will be predominantly urban, and the ratio of rural:urban demand is expected to
change to roughly 30:70, and would have an impact on the market for REBs as the choice of
REBs may differ between rural and urban areas.

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Projected Average Annual Brick Demand (in billion bricks/year) for 
various end‐use sectors 

 1,200

 1,000
259 

 800 223  228 

132 
190 
74 
 600 170 
163 

41  366  212 

307 
 400 115 
24  219  342 
73  150 
 200 14  293 
97  287  280 
230 
170  173 
110  65 
 ‐
2012‐2017 2017‐2022 2022‐2027 2027‐2032 2032‐2037 2037‐2042 2042‐2047

Residential‐ Rural Residential‐Urban Commerical Others

Figure 4.14 Projected annual average demand for bricks (billion brick/year) for 2012–47

4.1.3 Projected demand for bricks: Rural and urban by state

The analysis done in the previous section provides us information on demand of bricks for
residential construction in urban and rural areas at the national level. As IESS data by NITI Aayog,
does not give a break-up of the residential built-up area at the state level, we have used population
projections for 202682 to get a break up of urban and rural demand at the state level. The analysis
shows that:

 Urban brick demand: Five states – Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and
West Bengal constitute more than 50% of the urban brick demand.
 Rural brick demand: Five states – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana combined, and Rajasthan constitute more than 50% of the rural brick
demand.

82Census of India. 2001. Population projections for India and states 2001-2026. < [Link]
[Link]/Part%20B%20Demographic%20and%20Vital%20Indicators/Population%20Projection%20Report%202006
%20by%[Link]> (accessed on 1 April 2017)

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Urban Residential Brick demand 2027‐32 
(Billion)
160 149
140
120
100
80
60 39 47
40 31
20 21
20
0

Figure 4.15. Urban residential brick demand 2027–32 (billion)

Rural Residential Brick demand 2027‐32 
(Billion)
140 132

120
100
80
60
60
33
40 22
19 21
20
0
Rajasthan Uttar Bihar West Bengal AP + Others
Pradesh Telengana

Figure 4.16. Rural residential brick demand 2027–32 (billion)

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Potential Pathways for Transformation

4.2.1 Resource efficient brick pathways

The resource efficient brick pathways differ for different regions as well as for urban and rural
areas within a region. The potential REB solutions for the three regions are shown in
Table 4.13, Figure 4.17, and Figure 4.18.

Table 4.13. Resource efficient brick (REB) choices for the three regions

Himalayan states and North- Indo- Gangetic plains, Assam Peninsular, desert and coastal
eastern states (except Assam and Tripura India
and Tripura)

Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban

Baseline (2016)

- Solid burnt - Solid burnt - Solid burnt - Solid burnt - Solid burnt - AAC and CLC
clay bricks clay bricks clay bricks clay bricks clay bricks blocks
fired in fired in fired in fired in fired in - Solid and
traditional traditional traditional traditional traditional hollow concrete
kilns. kilns kilns kilns kilns. blocks
- Stone - Solid concrete - AAC & CLC - Stone - Pulverised
- Solid blocks blocks - Solid Fuel ash-
concrete - AAC blocks concrete cement or lime
blocks - Stone blocks bricks
- Pulverised - Solid burnt
fuel ash- clay bricks
cement or lime
bricks
Potential REB choices

- Hollow - Hollow - Solid burnt - Perforated - Pulverised - AAC and CLC

concrete concrete clay bricks and hollow fuel ash- blocks
blocks blocks fired in cleaner burnt clay cement or lime - Hollow
- Perforated - AAC blocks kilns bricks bricks concrete
burnt clay - Perforated and - Pulverised - AAC and CLC - Hollow blocks
bricks hollow burnt fuel ash- blocks concrete - Pulverised
- Solid burnt clay bricks cement or lime - Pulverised fuel blocks fuel ash-
clay bricks bricks ash-cement or - Solid burnt cement or lime
fired in - Perforated lime bricks clay bricks fired bricks
cleaner kilns burnt clay bricks in cleaner kilns - Perforated and
- CSEB - CSEB - Perforated hollow burnt
burnt clay clay bricks
bricks.
- CSEB

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Figure 4.17. Resource efficient brick choices for rural areas

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Figure 4.18. Resource efficient brick choices for urban areas

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

The REB choices for the urban area are influenced by the following factors:

a) The dominating building typology in the urban markets will be mid- and high-rise construction.
Lighter density bricks will be preferred. Also, large block size will be preferred as that helps in
faster rate of construction.
b) It is expected that compared to rural areas, the transformation of the brick industry from
unorganised to organised will be faster in and around urban areas. This transformation to
organised industry will move the industry towards mechanisation, consolidation of the
industry, larger production, and larger investment (>INR 5 crore). These enterprises will be
more suitable to produce lighter density bricks such as AAC blocks, hollow burnt clay bricks,
and hollow concrete blocks.

The REB choices for the rural areas are influenced by the following factors:

a) The dominating building typology in the rural markets will be low-rise construction, with a
preference towards solid brick products because of factors such as preference for load-
bearing construction in some regions, safety, and security issues.
b) The enterprises in the rural areas will be relatively smaller production capacity, will use semi-
mechanised process, and will require lower initial investment (INR 10 lakh to 2 crore).

4.2.2 Future Scenarios

Two scenarios have been developed for the future development of the brick sector in India. The
first scenario is the reference scenario, which assumes that no fresh policy initiatives are taken
to promote REBs and there is no change in the existing environment policies and implementation
structure. According to this scenario (Figure 4.19), solid burnt clay bricks will retain more than
70% of the market in 2032 and the share of the new walling construction technologies and REBs
will be about 25%.

The other scenario is the resource efficient scenario. Under this scenario, it is assumed that
new policy initiatives will be taken up for promoting REBs. These initiatives will take into account
the regional differences in raw material availability and requirements of different segments of the
building construction industry. According to this scenario (Figure 4.20), the share of solid burnt
clay bricks will reduce to 27% and the share of the new walling construction technologies and
REBs will increase to about 70%.

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The methodology for estimating the distribution of brick market in the ‘reference scenario’ and the
‘resource efficient scenario’ has been provided in Annexure 6.

Industrial
construction
17.5%

Solid Concrete
5.5%

AAC
1.9%

Flyash bricks
2.0%

Hollow blocks
0.2%

Perforated bricks Solid burnt clay

0.1% bricks
72.9%

Figure 4.19. Brick market distribution in 2032 under ‘Reference Scenario’

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Industrial construction
17%
Solid burnt clay bricks -
zigzag
CSEB 27%
1%

Hollow Concrete blocks

5%

Solid Concrete blocks

4%

Hollow blocks in TK
6%
AAC
9%

Flyash bricks
4% Perforated bricks in
Zigzag
27%

Figure 4.20. Brick market distribution in 2032 under ‘Resource Efficient Scenario’

Based on the brick market distribution for the two scenarios, it is projected that there will be 18%
saving in the resource efficient scenario over the reference scenario in cumulative clay
consumption for the period of 2017–32 (Figure 4.21). Similarly, 35% saving in coal consumption
(Figure 4.22) and 31% reduction in CO2 (Figure 4.23) emission can be achieved by moving
towards resource efficient scenario.83

83 Section 4.1.1 explains the methodology for the projection of annual brick demand. Annexure 6 explains the
methodology of brick distribution in future scenarios. Combining the two projections and the resource efficiency
framework explained in Section 3.1.1, cumulative savings of clay, energy, coal and CO2 have been estimated.

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Cummulative Clay Consumption (million tonnes)

30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
2017-2032 (Reference 2017-2032 (Resource efficient
Scenario) Scenario)

Figure 4.21. Cumulative clay consumption (2017–32) for future scenarios

Cummulative Equivalent coal consumption (milion

tonnes)
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2017-2032 (Reference 2017-2032 (Resource efficient
Scenario) Scenario)

Figure 4.22. Cumulative equivalent coal consumption (2017–32) for future scenarios

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Cummulative CO2 emission (million tonnes CO2)

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
2017-2032 (Reference Scenario) 2017-2032 (Resource efficient
Scenario)

Figure 4.23. Cumulative CO2 emission (2017–32) for future scenarios

4.2.3 Example of resource efficiency pathway for burnt clay brick industry

The techno-economics and the environmental benefits of transformation to REBs is shown in

Table 4.14 and

Table 4.15, taking a case of burnt clay brick industry. The baseline case is taken as manually
moulded solid bricks fired in an FCBTK kiln. Three cases have been considered

a) The FCBTK kiln is replaced with and efficient kiln (zigzag) but no other changes in the
manufacturing process are made, the final product remains manually moulded solid burnt clay
brick.
b) The manual moulding is replaced with an extruder and clay preparation machinery, which
makes it possible to produce extruded perforated bricks, the bricks after extrusion are dried
under shed and they are fired in an efficient zigzag kiln. The final product is a perforated brick
with at least 20% perforation.
c) More clay preparation machinery is added and a good quality extruder is used to produce
hollow clay blocks. The blocks are dried in a tunnel drier and fired in a tunnel kiln. The entire
brick handling system is mechanised. The final product is a hollow burnt clay block.

As shown in Table 4.14, it should be noted that a move from FCBTK to zigzag kiln requires
relatively lower investment (maximum INR 40 lakh) and has a high IRR of 100–250% due to
substantial savings in coal and improvement in brick quality. This step-in transformation is a win-

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win for all concerned and hence, as being seen, with a policy and regulatory push can easily be
achieved.

However, the next steps in the transition from manually moulded solid brick to perforated or hollow
burnt clay brick requires 7–30 times higher investment. This also involves risks related with new
technology, creating market for new products, uncertainty in raw material supply, etc. If one can
manage these risks, the IRR for these investments is still attractive. The main issue here is having
a window to provide finance and a strategy to reduce risks in the transformation.

Table 4.14. Brick production technology economics compared to the baseline of traditional Fixed Chimney Bull’s
Trench Kiln

New zigzag kiln Tunnel kiln, tunnel

New zigzag kiln
Type of and extruder dryer, and extruder
producing
product producing producing hollow
solid bricks
perforated bricks blocks
Dimension
230 x 115 x 75 230 x 115 x 75 400 x 200 x 200
Product (mm)
specification Weight (kg per
3 kg/brick 2.4 kg/brick 11 kg/block
brick/block)

Life of brick
manufacturing Year 20 20 25
system
cubic metre
Production capacity
per year 8600 13,000 86,000
Capital cost INR (lakh) 40 300 1300
Coal savings per
tonne/year
year 160 430 3700
Coal savings over tonne over the
the lifetime lifetime 3200 8600 92,500
Coal savings per
INR lakh/year 13 34.5 300
year
Coal savings over
INR lakh 250 680 7400
the lifetime

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Projected IRR 100%–250% 30%–50% 30%–60%

Note:
a) Capital cost does not include the cost of land.
b) The fuel savings are in reference to the baseline performance of ‘FCBTK’ technology.
c) Average cost of coal (gross calorific value of 5000 kcal/kg) delivered at brick kiln site assumes INR
7500 /tonne.
d) A range has been provided for the projected IRR to account for the variations in the production and
selling prices in different markets across India.

Table 4.15 tabulates some of the environment benefits. It is observed that the reductions in CO2,
black carbon, and PM emissions are high and the cost per tonne for the reduction in CO2
emissions is attractive.

Table 4.15. Brick production technology emissions

New zigzag
Tunnel kiln,
kiln and
New zigzag kiln tunnel dryer,
Type of extruder
producing solid and extruder
product producing
bricks producing
perforated
hollow blocks
bricks
Product
Dimension
specification 230 x 115 x 75 230 x 115 x 75 400 x 200 x 200
(mm)
Weight (kg per
3 kg/brick 2.4 kg/brick 11 kg/block
brick/block)

CO2 emissions compared to traditional FCBTK kiln baseline

Specific CO2
kg/cubic metre 159 127 114
emissions savings
CO2 emission
savings over the Tonne 6,700 18,460 180,600
brick plant lifetime

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Cost per metric

tonne of CO2 INR/tonne
700 1600 720
avoided
Particulate matter (PM) emissions (FCBTK is 1.18 g/kg brick)
PM stack emissions g/kg brick 0.24 0.24 0.24
PM savings over
Tonne 244 292 1421
brick plant lifetime
Black carbon (BC) emissions (FCBTK is 0.13 g/kg brick)
BC stack emissions g/kg brick 0.02 0.02 0
BC savings over
Tonne 29 34 197
brick plant lifetime
CO2
BC savings per plant eq. GWP100 26,100 30,600 177,300
lifetime tonne GWP20 92,800 108,800 630,400
s84

4.2.4 Risk analysis of future transformation

WEFT (Water Energy Food Transitions) Research undertook a short exploratory study in
technical partnership with Greentech Knowledge Solutions in 2017, to understand the risks in the
Indian clay bricks sector, mitigation possibilities, and financing needs. The overall framework for
risks analysis is based on standard templates employed by credit rating agencies and financial
institutions, which were populated based on review of literature and consultations with experts.
Table 4.16 presents a few risks and the possible mitigants.

Table 4.16. Examples of risks in transformation of Indian clay brick industry

Risk category Remarks Possible mitigants

Technology risk  Contractual arrangements between the  Develop and promote

(as some of the supplier and the brick enterprise may be standard contracts
technologies weak due to informal nature of the between the suppliers
have not been technology adopter (brick industry) and brick industry.
adequately

84 GHG savings derived from UNFCCC’s 5AR of GWP100 of 900 and GWP20 of 3200 in CO2 eq.

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tested in India,  Several of the technology providers are also  Facilitating

there is a small enterprises providing a specific formalisation of the
possibility that machinery, and not the entire manufacturing brick industry
the technology line and may not offer good after-sales  Training and skill
is not able to service. upgradation on new
perform at the  To reduce cost, there is a tendency to opt technologies
desired levels) for critical machinery (e.g., extruders) from  Insurance/guarantees
established technology providers and locally to mitigate risk
manufacture/assemble other machinery  Capacity building of
(e.g., box feeder). This has the potential to technology integrators.
reduce the efficiency of the complete
manufacturing line.
 Due to informal nature of the industry,
skilled manpower may not be available for
the proper operation and maintenance of the
machinery.
Compliance risk  There are various types of compliances that  Simplifying regulations
– environmental are required related to air emissions, fly ash for ease of
utilisation, and mining. implementation
 Complexity and vagueness of regulations  Single window
 Weak implementation capacities of the clearance
regulatory bodies  Strengthening
 Large number of ongoing litigations capacities of the
 Leakages and corruption issues regulatory bodies

National Policy Roadmap for a ‘Mission on Resource-Efficient Bricks’

(2017–32)

This section provides an outline of the national policy framework for a mission on REBs.

The roadmap for resource efficient scenario should not only address the issue of environment
sustainability but should also address the issues of providing affordable and good quality building
materials for housing as well as in creating sustainable livelihood opportunities (Figure 4.24).

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These policy goals address several key national priorities and can galvanise political and social
support for an REB initiative.

These goals are enumerated below.

Environmental Goal:

 To help India in reducing air pollution, reducing wastage of energy and in meeting India’s
obligations under international agreements, such as Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Developmental Goal:

 To meet demand for high-quality bricks at affordable prices for ‘housing for all’ and other
building and infrastructure requirements of the country.
 To promote local entrepreneurship and provide sustainable livelihoods to skilled workforce
engaged in brick production.

Figure 4.24. Key policy objectives of resource efficient brick initiative

4.3.1 Key Policy Principles

The key policy principles are as follows:

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a) Minimising negative environmental impacts during the entire life-cycle of bricks

b) Making available high-quality bricks at affordable prices
c) Promotion of local enterprises/entrepreneurship
d) Utilisation of local raw-material resources
e) Creation of a large number of sustainable livelihoods
f) Skilled workforce for the production and construction using REBs
g) Decent working conditions for workers involved in the production of bricks
h) Helping India in meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and
UN Sustainable Development Goals

4.3.2 Targets

Based on the resource efficient scenario, following targets are being proposed:

a) Achieving savings of 30% (or 800 million tonnes [MT]) in cumulative CO2 emissions during
2017–-32 period compared to the reference scenario.
b) Achieving savings of 35% (or 500 MT) in cumulative coal consumption during 2017–32 period
compared to the reference scenario.
c) 200% increase in annual fly ash consumption in brick making compared to the reference
scenario by 2032.
d) Mobilise investment of about INR 60,000 crore by 2022 and INR 1,80,000 crore by 2032 in
the upgradation/expansion of REB production.
e) To train and provide employment to 1 lakh skilled technical personnel in the production and
application of REBs by 2022 and 5 lakh by 2032.

4.3.3 Policy Roadmap: Key Action Points

The main objective of the policy roadmap is to put in place a conducive policy environment to take
the brick sector in the country towards a resource efficient path. Key policy action points (Figure
4.25) are elaborated in the following sections.

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National Policy on
Advocacy for resource efficient National & State
national polcy on brick & revision of resource efficient
resource efficient existing brick support
bricks environment programme
policies

Figure 4.25. Key policy action

[Link] National policy on Resource Efficient Bricks

Piecemeal environment policies and regulations combined with poor implementation have not led
to any substantial changes in the sector. A recent study on financing has found that one of the
main barriers in attracting new finance to the sector is the presence of regulatory risks (e.g.,
uncertainty over mining of raw materials). Achieving transformation of the brick sector is not
possible through environment policies and regulations alone. Complementary policies and actions
are needed in the areas of financing and technical assistance for technology upgradation, market
development for resource efficient products, R&D, and skill development and training. These are
lacking at present. Thus, there is a need to develop a policy that is transformative in nature, so
that the sector can respond to the larger environmental challenges and opportunities. Developing
the national policy will require taking an integrated view of various policies shown in Figure 4.26
and involving all concerned ministries and departments. As this task involves multiple ministries,
NITI Aayog seems to be better equipped to undertake the task of developing this policy.

As there has been a general lack of understanding about the importance of the brick sector and
need for a policy to transform the sector, a concerted policy advocacy effort will be required by
various stakeholders to reach out to NITI Aayog and other government agencies so that they can
be convinced to initiate action to formulate a policy for REBs.

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Figure 4.26. Various policies that needs to be considered while developing the national policy on resource efficient
bricks

In line with the national policy on REBs, amendments would be needed in the existing
environment policies and regulations to make them consistent, easy to implement, and effective.
Some of the policies and regulations that can be taken up for amendments are listed below.

Table 4.17. Amendment required in existing policies

Existing policies/ Agency Amendments required

regulations
Model building bye- Town and Country 1. Chapter 14 ‘Climate resilient construction
laws 2016 Planning Organisation – integration of environmental clearance
(TCPO), Ministry of with sanction’ mandates use of fly ash
Housing and Urban bricks for building plan (> 20,000 m2 built-
Affairs (MoHUA) up area). The fly ash bricks can be
replaced with REBs and a definition/list of
REBs can be added. Such a provision

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will provide a level playing field for

different types of REBs.
2. Chapter 14 should also add a provision
for the thermal quality of the envelope to
reduce heat gains from the walls. Such a
provision will encourage the production
of REBs having low thermal conductivity.
Fly ash regulation Ministry of 1. The fly ash regulation covers only the fly
Environment, Forests ash generated from coal- or lignite-based
and Climate Change thermal power plants. Apart from fly ash
(MoEFCC) there are several other types of industrial
and mining wastes are available (coal
mine waste, lime stone waste, blast
furnace slag, iron ore tailings, marble
dust, etc). There is a need for a
regulation that covers utilisation of other
major types of industrial and mine
wastes.
2. The two critical agencies for
implementation of fly ash regulations are
the State Pollution Control Boards to
ensure that the specified quantity of fly
ash is being used in the manufacture of
bricks and the Urban Local Bodies
(ULBs) to modify and implement building
bye-laws to make mandatory the use of
fy ash bricks. Given the large number
(several lakhs of producers) and even
larger number of building projects that
need to be monitored, simple guidelines
for compliance need to be developed.
Emission standards MoEFCC, Central 1. The current emission standards do not
for brick kilns Pollution Control cover all types of kiln technologies, e.g.,
Board (CPCB) clamps as well as modern kiln

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technologies like tunnel kiln. The

emission standards should cover all
types of kilns. Much better way would be
to have ‘uniform’ (technology neutral)
standards.
2. The standards can distinguish between
the ‘existing’ and ‘new’ kilns. For ‘new’
kilns (kilns established after a certain cut-
off date) the standards could be more
stringent.
3. The current standards are only for SPM,
the future standards can cover other
pollutants e.g. sulphur dioxide, hydrogen
fluoride, besides SPM.
4. The revision of the standards should take
place at frequent intervals (e.g., 5 years).
5. As in several of the brick kilns, the
feeding of fuel is intermittent, the
emissions show periodic variation. The
emission standards should include the
methodology so that the sample
collected cover both fuel charging and
non-charging durations and similar other
issues specific to brick kilns.

To implement the national policy on REBs, putting in place a national resource efficient brick
mission/programme could be the next logical step. The mission can be tasked to coordinate
actions across different central government departments and ministries. Some of the key action
points for such a programme/mission could be as follows:

 Developing synergies with the ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’ being coordinated by the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to create sustainable demand for REBs.

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 Work on the issue of facilitating financing industries for REB production. This may lead to
establishing a ‘Brick Industry Financing Facility’ to make available finance for establishing new
or for upgrading existing brick enterprises.
 Update/new standards for different kinds of REBs to be done by the Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS).
 Inclusion of different types of REBs in the schedule of rates of different government
construction agencies by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). The schedule of
rates already includes AAC block, fly ash brick masonry, other types of REBs such as
perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks needs to be included.
 Programme on R&D and technology transfer in the area of REB production by the Department
of Science and Technology (DST). Synergies with existing DST programmes on R&D in
energy efficient buildings and waste management need to be explored.
 Labelling or certification of REBs under the eco-labelling scheme of MoEFCC or other similar
labelling programme.
 Establishing a sector skill council for brick industry and start country-wide skilling initiative on
both production and application of REBs by the National Skill Development Council (NSDC).
 Technology upgradation scheme for REB production by the Ministry of Micro Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSME).

[Link] State Resource Efficient Brick Programmes

The responsibility of implementing the various national policies on REBs lies with states, district
administrations, and urban local bodies. Also, the brick industry plays an important role in the
political economy of a state as can be shown by the statistics on brick industry in Uttar Pradesh
(UP) (Table 4.18). Given the large-scale socio-economic-environment-political implications, it will
be in the interest of state governments to take a lead in developing their own programmes to
promote REB production and use.

Table 4.18. Brick industry in Uttar Pradesh

Total number of enterprises 20,000

Total annual production 50 billion bricks/year
Industry turnover INR 25,000 crore
Contribution to state GDP 2%
Employment 2–3 million

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Tax revenue from mining INR 200 crore

The resource efficiency pathway for each state and in some cases for different regions within a
state will be different. While in the case of UP, located in the Indo-Gangetic plains, with good
availability of clay for brick making throughout the state and several power plants, the resource
efficiency pathway would consist of resource efficient burnt clay bricks and fly-ash-based bricks.
On the other hand, for Maharashtra having large variations in raw material availability and market
demand amongst six administrative regions, the pathway will differ from region to region. For
instance, the Konkan region, which has limited clay and fly ash resources, the solution may lie in
moving towards resource efficient concrete blocks; Nagpur and Amravati have higher availability
of fly ash and hence resource efficient fly ash bricks can play an important role; the remaining
three regions of Aurangabad, Nashik, and Pune do not have good availability of fly ash and hence
the solution may lie in promoting resource efficient clay and concrete bricks.

Following sequence of steps is suggested for initiating action at the level of states:

 Background study on raw-material resource mapping, demand assessment, and developing

a pathway for REB production for the state.
 Setting up of an inter-departmental committee, to develop the state policy/action plan, and
oversee its implementation. The committee may be chaired by the Chief Secretary.
 The specific actions by various state departments may include:
- Making available necessary infrastructure such roads, electricity or development of
special zones for brick production
- Streamlining mining, collection, and distribution of raw materials for making bricks, e.g.,
silt, sand, and fly ash.
- Strengthening the state pollution control boards, mining departments, etc. for the
enforcement of the environment regulations.
- Inclusion of different types of REBs in the PWD schedule of rates.
- Technical support programme for REB production through District Industries Centres
(DICs).
- Amending building bye-laws and development control rules by urban local bodies (ULBs)
and development authorities for making use of REBs mandatory for building construction.
- Skill development by state-level skill development missions

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- Developing state-level technical capacities for performance monitoring, technical

consulting, quality testing, etc.

Summary and Next Action Points

 Masonry construction using bricks is the main type of building construction technology used
in the country.
 It is expected that in the next 15 years, masonry construction will retain its dominant position
and the average annual demand for bricks will increase from about 250 billion Standard Brick
Units (SBUs)/year during 2012–17, to a peak of 750–1000 billion SBUs/year during 2032–37.
 Brick manufacturing is resource intensive and brick sector has a large environmental footprint
as it consumes about 800 MT of raw material per year, 40 MT of solid fuel (coal and biomass)
per year and is an important source of CO2, PM2.5 and black carbon emissions.
 REBs such as perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks, clay-fly ash bricks, AAC blocks, and
fly ash bricks have multiple environment benefits in the form of: lower primary material
consumption, consumption of less energy for manufacturing, lower CO2 and air pollution
emissions during manufacturing.
 A programme to bring about a transformation in the brick industry and make it resource
efficient by 2032 is being proposed. The programme will have multiple environmental and
socio-economic benefits:
o Achieving more than 25% savings in the primary raw materials compared to the reference
scenario by 2032
o Achieving savings of 30% in CO2 emissions compared to the reference scenario by 2032.
o Achieving savings of 35% in coal consumption compared to the reference scenario by
2032.
o Substantial increase in the utilisation of industrial and other wastes for brick making, e.g.,
200% increase in annual fly ash consumption in brick making compared to the reference
scenario by 2032.
o Making available good quality bricks for the construction of housing.
o Assist in the transformation of large ‘informal’ small-scale brick manufacturing sector
consisting of 250,000–300,000 enterprises into the ‘formal’ small-scale sector and in the
process generating/transforming millions of seasonal jobs into ‘round the year green jobs’.
 The next action points to bring about the transformation in brick industry are:

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o Concerted efforts by a network of institutions for carrying out advocacy for a national
initiative on REBs.
o Development of an overarching national policy/strategy on REBs.
o Revision of existing environment policies, e.g., fly ash regulation, environment standards
for brick kilns, and make them coherent with the national policy/strategy on REBs.
o To implement the national policy on REBs, putting in place a national resource efficient
brick mission/programme which covers actions on financing and technical assistance for
technology upgradation, market development for resource efficient products, R&D, and
skill development and training.
o Development of state-level resource efficiency programmes for brick industry taking into
account the raw material availability, demand for bricks, and socio-economic development
priorities of the state.

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Annexure 1: Brief description on types of bricks

Solid Burnt Clay Bricks

The primary material used in the production of burnt clay bricks is clay. The various steps involved
in the production process of burnt clay bricks are mining of clay, preparation of clay-mix, moulding
of bricks, drying of green bricks, and firing in brick kiln. The energy consumption and air emissions
during the production of bricks primarily depend on the brick kiln technology employed and the
fuel used. Several types of kilns are used for firing bricks.

In India, Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln (FCBTK) and Clamp Kilns are the main technology
used for firing bricks (also referred as traditional kiln technology); efficient kiln technologies
include Zigzag Kilns, Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK), and Tunnel Kiln.

Solid burnt clay bricks are not only one of the oldest but also the most extensively used building
material in construction work. They are extensively used as both load-bearing and non-load-
bearing masonry products. There exist considerable variations in the quality of raw material. the
process of manufacture and the quality of the finished product.

The various BIS standards applicable to manufacturing of solid burnt clay bricks are:

1. IS-1077 (1992) Common Burnt Clay Building Bricks

2. IS-2117 (1991): Guide for manufacture of hand-made common burnt-clay building bricks
3. IS-11650 (1991): Guide for manufacture of common burnt clay building bricks by semi-
mechanised process

Figure A1.27. Solid burnt clay brick

Hollow Burnt Clay Bricks/Blocks

The primary material used in the production of these blocks is clay. Hollow clay blocks are
manufactured in factory set-ups, which mainly includes extruders for brick moulding, artificial

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dryers, and tunnel kilns for the firing the blocks. The manufacturing process and the machinery
involved is provided in Figure A1.36.

Figure A1.28. Manufacturing process of hollow/perforated clay bricks85

Volume of perforations are greater than 25% of the gross block volume, where the perforations
are laid in the horizontal direction (Figure A1.29). These blocks are light in weight, have low
thermal conductivity and precise in size and surface (avoids the need of plastering).

85 Image source: [Link] (accessed on 1 August 2017)

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Figure A1.29. Hollow clay block

Geographically, the current market for these blocks is concentrated in three southern states –
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Hollow clay blocks are mostly used for two building types:
(a) High-rise MIG/HIG housing in metro cities and (b) Individual HIG housing in metro cities and
smaller cities. These are suitable for construction of non-load-bearing walls only. The BIS
standard applicable to manufacturing of hollow clay blocks is IS-3952 (2013) Burnt Clay Hollow
Bricks and Blocks for Walls and Partitions.

Perforated Burnt Clay Products

The primary material used in the production of these blocks is clay. Manufacturing of perforated
bricks mainly require setting up of an extruder for brick moulding. In India, zigzag kilns and
Hoffman kilns are the main technologies used for firing perforated clay bricks.

In practice, perforated bricks, usually having 3 to 10 holes, have perforations ranging from 7% to
22%. Bricks having higher volume of perforation are lighter in weight in comparison to solid burnt
clay bricks and consume less fuel and energy for production.

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Figure A1.30. Eight-hole perforated brick

Geographically, the current market for perforated bricks is concentrated in the NCR, Punjab, and
Haryana. Institutional buildings are one of the main buyers of perforated bricks as several of these
buildings opt for exposed brick façade. Perforated bricks have also been used in affordable mass
housing load-bearing construction and as sewer bricks due to high compressive strength and low
water absorption properties.

The BIS standard applicable to manufacturing of perforated clay brick is IS-2222 (1991) - Burnt
Clay Perforated Bricks.

Hollow and Solid Concrete Blocks

These are manufactured by controlled mechanical compaction of a mixture of cement, sand (fine
aggregates), and stone chips (coarse aggregates) in a mould. Usually the blocks are cured by
water only. Manufacturing units are usually small-scale units using concrete mixer, hydraulic or
vibro-press block making machines (Figure A1.31).

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Figure A1.31. Manufacturing machinery for hollow/solid concrete blocks86

A hollow concrete block has one or more large holes or cavities, which either pass through the
block (open cavity) or do not effectively pass through the block (closed cavity) and has the solid
material between 50% and 75% of the total volume of the block.

Figure A1.32. Hollow concrete block Figure A1.33. Solid concrete block

These blocks are manufactured throughout the country; but the usage is limited to few
applications such as boundary walls, commercial complexes, etc. In a few cities in south India

86 Image source: [Link] (accessed on 2 August 2017)

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such as Chennai and Bengaluru, these blocks are also used in the construction of high-rise
residential buildings.

The BIS standards applicable to manufacturing of hollow/solid concrete blocks are:

 IS-2185-1- (2005)-Hollow and Solid Concrete Blocks

 IS-2185-2-(1996)-Concrete Masonry Light Weight Blocks Hollow and Solid

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC)

It is a lightweight, precast building material that is produced by mixing silica rich material fly
ash/sand, cement, lime, gypsum, aluminum powder/paste, and water. The manufacturing set-up
requires a complete mechanised production line (Figure A1.34) and high investment.

Figure A1.34. AAC block manufacturing line87

AAC blocks are large (in size), light in weight, and have low thermal conductivity. Use of AAC
blocks results in reduction of deadweight of the structure, which, in turn, leads to reduction in use
of steel and cement. Large block sizes ensure rapid construction so that more wall area can be
laid per man-hour than in conventional brick wall constructions.

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Manufacturing of AAC Blocks is centered around large cities but supply network is spread across
all cities. Gujrat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Telengana, and West Bengal are the leading producers
of AAC Blocks in India. The blocks are predominantly being used in multi-storey high-rise
construction sector.

BIS standards applicable to manufacturing of AAC Blocks is IS-2185-3-(1984)-concrete masonry

units, Autoclaved cellular Aerated Concrete Blocks.

Figure A1.35. AAC blocks

Cellular Light-weight concrete (CLC)

It is a lightweight concrete that is produced by making a slurry of cement, fly ash, sand and water,
which is further mixed with stable foam, in a concrete mixer, under ambient conditions (Figure
A1.36). The manufacturing set-up requires low-cost machinery and relatively low investment.

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Figure A1.36. CLC production process88

CLC blocks are large (in size), light in weight and have low thermal conductivity. Use of CLC
blocks results in reduction of deadweight of the structure; which in turn leads to reduction in use
of steel and cement. Large block sizes ensure rapid construction so that more wall area can be
laid per man-hour than in conventional brick wall constructions.

The manufacturing is generally done at the building construction site.

BIS standards applicable to manufacturing of CLC Blocks is IS-2185-4- (2008): Concrete masonry
units, Part 4: Preformed foam cellular concrete blocks.

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Figure A1.37. CLC block

Construction and Demolition Waste bricks

These are dense solid block produced by compacting a mixture of cement (20%–25%), crushed
demolition waste (65%–70%), admixture (5%–15%), and water. As of now these bricks use
special admixtures in their manufacturing, which reduces their curing time. C&D waste bricks are
still in a nascent phase of product development. The challenge lies in optimizing the compressive
strength vis-à-vis density to achieve cost efficiency. The manufacturing process has been
depicted in Figure A1.38.

Figure A1.38. C&D waste brick production process

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C&D waste bricks are not suitable for light-weight construction. At present, it is being used as an
infill walling material. At present, there are only a few C&D waste brick manufacturing units, set
up in and around the NCR region.

Figure A1.39. C&D waste bricks

Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB)

It is a dense solid block produced by compacting a mixture of soil, sand, stabiliser (cement/lime)
and water using press machine. CSEB production is done on the site through soil excavated from
the project sites or from nearby location which saves the transportation and fuel costs. Equipment
for making CSEB is available in manual or mechanised models ranging from village to semi-
industrial scale. The manufacturing process has been depicted in the Figure A1.40.

Figure A1.40. CSEB manufacturing process89

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2017)

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CSEBs can be used in load-bearing construction up to two floors and in non-load-bearing

construction, as infill. The blocks have negligible market share at present and are manufactured
on site. The production of blocks requires technical expertise to assess soil characteristics and
the appropriate mix of cement. This has been a barrier for its adoption.

The BIS standard applicable to manufacturing of CSEB is IS 1725 (1982): Soil based blocks used
in general building construction.

Figure A1.41. Compressed stabilised earth blocks

Pulverised Fuel Ash Lime/Cement bricks

Pulverised fuel ash-lime bricks are produced from materials consisting of pulverised fuel ash in
major quantity, lime and an accelerator acting as a catalyst. Pulverised fuel ash-cement bricks
are made from materials consisting of pulverised fuel ash in major quantity, cement and
admixtures. These bricks are generally manufactured by blending various raw materials which
are then moulded into bricks and subjected to curing. The manufacturing process has been
depicted in the Figure A1.42.

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Figure A1.42. Fly ash brick manufacturing process90

Pulverised Fuel Ash Lime/Cement bricks, also known as fly ash bricks, are being manufactured
primarily by small-scale producers in the regions, around thermal power plants. At present, fly ash
bricks are being primarily used for low-rise construction and a few high-rise construction buildings.
As per CEA data, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Rajasthan account
for almost 70% of the fly ash utilisation for brick and tile manufacturing.

The BIS standards applicable to manufacturing of Fly ash bricks are:

 IS 12894 (2002): Pulverized Fuel Ash-Lime Bricks

 Draft IS for Pulverized Fuel Ash-Cement Bricks

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Annexure 2: Calculation of brick requirement per m2 of floor space

construction

Step 1 – Design of various combinations

Firstly, size and number of bedrooms, kitchens and toilets are assumed for various types
of dwelling houses (as per census). The assumed floor area for a room is 15 m2.
As there are several possible combinations for five and six room dwellings, walling area
is estimated according the ratio of walling area with floor area of other dwellings.

No exclusive

Three rooms

Six rooms &

Four rooms
Two rooms

Five rooms
One room

above
room

Bedroom (3m*5m=15 sqm) 1 1 2 3 4 5 6

Kitchen (2m*2.5m=5 sqm) 0 1 1 1 2 2 2
Toilet (2m*2.5m=5 sqm) 1 1 1 2 3 4 4
Total(sqm) 20 25 40 60 85 105 120

The plan view of various combinations of dwelling units are shown in the next page.

Step 2 - Assumption
The external walls are of 10” thickness; constructed by standard size bricks of 230 x 115
x 75 mm (98 bricks per m2 of wall)
The internal walls are of 5” thickness; constructed by standard size bricks of 230 x 115 x
75 mm (49 bricks per m2 of wall)

Step 3 - Estimation

No
1 room 2 rooms 3 rooms 4 rooms 5 rooms 6 rooms
exclusive
Avg. total wall length of
23 26 38 56 73 88 97
various combination (m)
Height of wall (m) 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8

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Total wall area (m2) 87.4 98.8 144.4 212.8 277.4 334.4 368.6
Internal wall area (m2) 9.5 22.8 43.7 76 110.2 140.6 155.8
Internal wall area without
7.9 21.2 40.1 68.8 97.9 124.7 137.9
doors and windows (m2)
External wall area (m2) 77.9 76 100.7 136.8 167.2 193.8 212.8
External wall area without
73.6 70.95 94.9 128.7 158.3 182.6 200.1
doors and windows(m2)
Bricks for external walls 7212 6953 9300 12612 15513 17894 19609
Bricks for internal walls 387 1039 1965 3371 4797 6110 6757
Total bricks 7600 7992 11265 15984 20311 24005 26367
Total floor space area (m2) 20 25 40 60 85 105 120
Bricks per m2 of floor space
380 320 282 266 239 229 220
area
Average of bricks per m2
276
floor space area

An additional 30% of bricks is accounted for the bricks consumed in constructing foundation,
boundary walls, brick soling and drains of the house.

The average requirement of standard size bricks per m2 of floor space is 360 bricks (~ 276 x
1.3).

Various Combinations of houses

No exclusive room One room Two room

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Three room Four rooms

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Annexure 3: Sample Calculation - Manufacturing energy consumption

of a walling material

Embodied Energy of Raw Materials

Raw material Embodied energy Units Source of data

Lime 5.63 MJ/kg Reddy BVV and Jagadish KS. 2003.91

Cement 3.99 MJ/kg Madlool, et al. 2011.92

Aluminium 150.69 MJ/kg Praseeda, et al. 2015.93

Electricity 11.22 MJ/kWh Praseeda, et al. 2015. 94

Flyash 0 MJ/kg Recycled material

Gypsum 0.04 MJ/kg <[Link]

Wallboards/Environment/GBMAGyp-Sustainability-
[Link]> (accessed on 1 July 2017)

Other data

Density of diesel 820 kg/kl Society of Indian Automobile

Calorific value of 43.3 MJ/Kg 2006 IPCC Guidelines on National GHG Inventories:
diesel Table 1.2- Default NCV of Chapter 1 of Vol 2. Default
value at the upper limit of the uncertainty at 95%
confidence intervals is taken as conservative approach.

35.5 MJ/l Density of Diesel in kg/kl x Calorific value of Diesel in

MJ/kg / 1000

Calorific value of 35.2 MJ/kg Lab results

petcoke

91 Reddy BVV and Jagadish KS. 2003. Embodied energy of common and alternative building materials
and technologies. Energy and Buildings. 35 (2), 129-137
92 Madlool, et al. 2011. A critical review on energy use and savings in the cement industries. Renewable

and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 15(4), 2042-2060

93 Praseeda, et al. 2015. Embodied energy assessment of building materials in India using process and

input–output analysis. Energy and Buildings 86, 677-686

94 Ibid.

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Autoclaved Aerated Concrete blocks (AAC blocks)

Material Unit per m3 % by wt. Embodied Embodied energy

95
(A) (B) energy factor for AAC blocks
(C) MJ/m3
(D) = (A) x (C)

Raw materials

Fly ash (kg) 458.0 75.3% 0.0 0.0

Lime (kg) 47.2 7.8% 5.63 265.7

Cement (kg) 100.0 16.5% 3.99 398.7

Gypsum (kg) 2.5 0.4% 0.04 0.1

Aluminium powder (kg) 0.35 0.06% 150.7 52.7

Subtotal 717.2

Fuel and energy

Petcoke (kg) 12 35.2 422.4

Diesel (l) 0.39 35.5 13.7

Electricity (kWh) 10.94 11.22 122.7

Total Manufacturing Energy Consumption 1276

Source: Raw material composition, fuel and energy consumption data taken from a prominent
AAC manufacturing plant in Haryana.

95 Units consumed in production of 1m3 of walling material

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Annexure 4: Estimation of brick market in India

Solid burnt clay bricks: For this estimation, annual solid burnt clay brick production figures
have been taken from two studies -
a) Kamyotra J S. 2016.96 240 – 260 billion bricks per annum
b) Kumar S. 2016.97 – 236 billion bricks per annum

The methodology used by both these studies is

a) Estimate the number of brick enterprises by states (through information available with the
state governments as well as through information available with the state level brick
makers’ associations and some field surveys)
b) Estimate the average annual production capacity per enterprise for a state (through
interviews with the state level brick makers’ association and some field surveys)

. .

′ 1′ & ′ 2′

If we take an average of the production figures given in the two studies the brick production
is estimated at 243 billion bricks per annum.

It should be noted that this type of estimation has large uncertainties, which are explained
below:

a) While the estimation of enterprises using FCBTK or zigzag kilns (bigger in size) is relatively
better, the estimation of number of small rural (clamp based) enterprises is very difficult.

96 Kamyotra J S. 2016. CPCB presentation titled “Brick Kilns in India”, Presentation made at the workshop on
“Roadmap for Brick Kiln Sector Challenges and Opportunities”, organized by Centre for Science & Environment at
New Delhi on February 8, 2016.
97 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST) at Chandigarh on 24 May 2016

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b) The number of operating brick enterprises fluctuates every year. This depends on the
market demand, weather, workers’ availability, etc. In the method used above, it is
assumed that 100% of the brick enterprises are operational.
c) The annual average production capacity of brick enterprises can vary significantly in a
state. Usually enterprises closer to the urban areas produce more bricks, compared to
individual enterprise in a rural area. The capacity may also vary from region to region
within a state e.g. a typical brick enterprise in western UP produces 50-75 lakh bricks/
year on the other hand a brick enterprise in eastern UP produces 30-50 lakh bricks. As
the data is not available at the district level, assuming an average production capacity at
the state level can bring in significant error.

However, given the absence of official data on brick kilns, this was perhaps the only way to
estimate the production of burnt clay bricks. In recent years, several of the states have started
preparing GIS maps of bricks kilns (e.g. Bihar and NCR) for either compliance with the
environment norms or to improve the collection of mining revenue. It is expected that in
coming years, there will be an improvement in data on number of brick kilns.

Hollow and perforated burnt clay bricks: The report on “Market Assessment for Burnt Clay
Resource Efficient Bricks, 2016” prepared by Greentech Knowledge Solutions, for UNDP-
GEF provides the status of burnt clay REB production (Hollow and perforated burnt clay
bricks) in India.

In this report, information on both the number of resource efficient brick producing enterprises
as well as their annual production was collected through interviews with brick makers, web
search, reports and information available with the UNDP-GEF project, and suppliers of
machines to these enterprises. The summary of the production data is as follows -

a) “The total annual production of burnt clay hollow bricks during 2015 is estimated at around
180 million standard size bricks, out of which almost 87% are produced in Karnataka”.
b) “The total annual production of perforated burnt clay bricks during 2015 is estimated at
around 37 million standard size bricks, out of which almost 80% are produced in north
India -- Punjab, Haryana and NCR region”.
c) The final figure for production of Hollow and perforated burnt clay brick industry is the
cumulative of the above two figures – 0.22 billion bricks per annum.

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Pulverized fuel-ash lime/cement bricks and AAC Blocks: The report [GKSPL.2016]98
discusses on fly ash bricks production and AAC Blocks annual production. The amount of fly
ash utilized for AAC block production was subtracted from the total annual fly ash utilization
from brick making and the remaining amount was assigned to the production of pulverized
fuel ash bricks. It was assumed that 1.0 kg of fly ash is used per bricks. This value was then
used to calculate the number of flyash bricks that were produced. The following table briefly
displays the important steps and results of the estimation. The methodology of the steps are
provided after Table A4.19.

Table A4.19. Steps and results of fly-ash-based brick production estimation

Parameters Quantity Methodology (given below)

Fly ash utilised for brick
12.36 million tonnes [A]
making as per [CEA.2015]99
AAC block production 4.4 billion bricks / year [B]
Fly ash brick production as per
8.36 billion bricks / year [C]
CEA
Fly ash utilised in “Other” as
13.39 million tonnes
per CEA (13%)
Fly ash bricks manufactured
3.35 billion bricks /year [D]
from “Other” fly ash sources
Fly ash bricks production as per
11.7 billion bricks/year [E]
GKSPL based on CEA data
Fly ash bricks installed capacity
54 billion bricks/year [F]
as per INSWAREB
Fly ash bricks production at
27 billion bricks/ year [G]
50% PUF

The methodology used for obtaining the figures presented in the above table is as follows:

A. CEA data for fly ash utilisation for brick making in a particular year. It was assumed that the
amount of fly ash utilisation for brick making covers both pulverised fuel ash bricks as well as
AAC blocks.

98 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (GKSPL). [Link] of fly ash based Walling Material Production
Inventory in India, Report prepared for Climate Studies Program, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
99 Central Electricity Authority. 2015. Report on fly ash generation at coal/lignite based thermal power stations and its

utilization in the country for the year 2014-15. New Delhi: Central Electricity Authority

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B. The data on annual AAC blocks production was calculated by collecting information on AAC
production units as well as their annual production capacity. This data was used to calculate
the annual production. It should be noted that a plant capacity utilisation factor was assumed
while calculating the annual production.
C. The amount of fly ash utilised for AAC block production was subtracted from the total annual
fly ash utilisation from brick making and the remaining amount was assigned to the production
of pulverised fuel ash bricks. It was assumed that 1.0 kg of fly ash is used per bricks. This
value was then used to calculate the number of fly ash bricks that were produced.
D. A part of fly ash utilisation in “others” also goes for brick making (as several of the small
producers do not get fly ash directly from power plants). The amount of fly ash utilised in
“Others” is 13.39 million tonnes (MT) (13% of 103 MT). Assuming that 25% of this quantity
goes for manufacturing bricks, further 3.5 MT of fly ash is utilised in manufacturing fly ash
bricks.
E. The figure of fly ash brick production as per GKSPL based on CEA data is the cumulation of
figures obtained in steps C and D.
F. Vishakhapatnam-based NGO, Institute for Solid Waste Research & Ecological Balance
(INSWAREB), which is involved in the promotion of fly ash bricks, has estimated that there
are 18,000 fly ash brick production units in the country with a total installed capacity to produce
54 billion bricks/year.100
G. Five states – Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Telangana – that show
high fly ash utilisation for brick making as per CEA data were selected for conducting rapid
field surveys. Survey team consisting of 2-3 team members101, visited these states during
March to June 2016. During the visit, the survey team members met fly ash brick
manufacturers, suppliers of fly ash manufacturing machinery, a few builders/building sector
professionals and in some cases, a few government officials and power plant officials.
Average percentage utilisation factor of the installed capacity at the time of survey varied from
25% to 75% (highest in Tamil Nadu and lowest in Gujarat). Assuming an average 50% plant
utilisation factor, production figures can be obtained using INSWAREB’s data on installed
capacity.

100 Bhanumatidas N and Kalidas N. 2016. FaL-G the unique E4 technology. Presentation at the Stakeholder
Workshop on Resource Efficient Walling Materials. Workshop organized by Greentech Knowledge Solutions, June 7,
2016. New Delhi.
101 The survey was conducted jointly by a team consisting of Bhagwat Technologies and Energy Conservation Pvt.

Ltd and Greentech Knowledge Solitions Pvt. Ltd.

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 It is difficult to estimate the exact national-level production figures for fly ash bricks. Also,
there is a huge gap in the figures derived from CEA data and INSWAREB.
 The summary of the production data for year 2014/15, based on the report is as follows:
o Fly ash bricks: 12 – 27 billion standard sized bricks / year (for the national brick
consumption estimation, 11.7 billion bricks have been used)
o AAC blocks: 4.4 billion standard sized bricks / year

Concrete Blocks: As many concrete brick units are in the unorganised sector, i.e. they are
either not registered or licensed to any official organisation, so there is no record at any level
how much these bricks are produced annually.

To assess the inventory data from CENSUS OF INDIA-2011, HOUSES HOUSEHOLD

AMENITIES AND ASSETS and the same of 2001 has been analysed to get the annual
consumption of the concrete bricks in India. To note, only households are considered in this
study.

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Distribution of households by predominant material of wall - HLO Indicators - Census 2011

and 2001

State India/ Distribution of households by predom inant m aterial of Wall

Code State/ Stone

G rass, Thatch, Bamboo

Households (Excluding
Union Territory #

Mud, Unburnt brick

G .I.,Metal,Asbestos

Any other m aterial

Plastic, Polythene

Not packed w ith

households)
institutional

Packed w ith
Total No. of

Burnt brick

Concrete
sheets
m ortar

m ortar
Wood

Total
1 2 3 etc. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
00 INDIA 246,692,667 9.0 0.3 23.7 0.7 14.1 3.4 10.8 0.6 47.5 3.5 0.6

Figure A4.43. Distribution of households by predominant material of wall

Distribution of households by number of dwelling rooms-HLO Indicators- Census 2011 and

2001

State India/ Distribution of households by num ber of dw elling room s

Code State/
Households (Excluding

Union Territory #

Six room s & above

No exclusive room

Three room s
households)
institutional

Four room s
Total No. of

Tw o room s

Five room s
O ne room

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
00 INDIA 246,692,667 3.9 37.1 31.7 14.5 7.5 2.6 2.8

Figure A4.44. Distribution of households by number of dwelling rooms

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STEPS FOR ESTIMATION

•Create possible arrangements of -no. of dwelling rooms households

considering kitchen and toilets also.
1

•Calculate the wall area of external and internal walls

•Reductions are to be done for doors and windows.
2

•Calculate number of bricks (230mm*115mm*75mm) in (x) no. for

various dwelling household
3

•Calculate % Concrete Bricks State-wise from Census Data 2001 and

2011.
•Calculate no. of households dwelling wise for Concrete Bricks using
4 above % obtained from census data 2001 and 2011.

•Calculate the difference in no. of households statewise between 2011

and 2001 census datas and estimate the no of households made of
5 concrete brick for 10years.

•Calculation CAGR for 10 years, an estimate of consumption for the year

2011 is obtained
6

According to this study, the concrete block production for the year 2011 is estimated to be
about 6.36 billion bricks per annum in residential sector and about 7.5 billion bricks per
annum for 2014/15. As through the census data only the number of blocks used in the
construction of residential buildings is calculated, in practice, a large number of concrete
blocks are used for boundary wall construction as well as for the construction of other
types of buildings. To account for these uses, a factor of ‘2’ (i.e. concrete block use for
boundary walls and other buildings is equal to the concrete block use in the residential
buildings) has been used to calculate the total number of concrete blocks produced.
Hence, the concrete block production for the year 2014/15, can be estimated at about 15
billion bricks per annum.

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Annexure 5: Resource Efficient Bricks Pathways for Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state in western region of India and it is India’s second most populous state;
with a population of 112 million.102 It is one of the most developed states in India, contributing
25% of the country's industrial output and 23.2% of its GDP.103

Maharashtra is divided into 36 districts, which are grouped into six administrative divisions.104

Amravati Division
Aurangabad Division
Konkan Division
Nagpur Division
Nashik Division
Pune Division

Figure A5.45. Districts and divisions of Maharashtra (without Palghar district)

102 [Link] (accessed on 5 August 2017)

103 [Link] (accessed on
4 August 2017)
104 Image Source:

[Link] (accessed
on 1 September 2017)

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As per the projections by McKinsey Global Institute, Maharashtra will be one of the five states
that will have more urban population as compared to rural population, by 2030. In 2008, the rate
of urbanisation was 44% with an urban population of 47.9 million. It is projected, that the rate of
urbanisation will be 58% with an urban population of 78.1 million by 2030.105 With the current
housing shortage coupled with required housing units for increasing population, the state of
Maharashtra faces a housing need of 10.4 million houses by 2022.106 (5.5 million in urban and 5
million in rural). The state is expected to show a sharp increase in the demand for building
materials. Construction of buildings at such a scale would require a variety of building materials
such as sand, aggregates, cement, steel, aluminium, timber, glass, brick, and ceramic tiles.

Brick Market – Status

The market of bricks shows wide variations across the state; and these variations are mainly
influenced by Geographical region and type of building projects.

Regional diversity based on raw material availability

Maharashtra state has traditionally been abundant in aggregates, stones and clay deposits. The
main raw materials used to produce bricks are brick earth, aggregates, fly ash and natural stones.

The distribution of these main raw-materials is not uniform in the state. The state’s division wise-
availability of the main raw materials for making bricks is shown in Table A5.20.

Table A5.20. Maharashtra's division-wise raw material availability

Availability of Raw Materials

Coarse Natural
Divisions Fly ash Clay Sand
aggregates stone
Amravati Yes No Yes
Aurangabad Yes No Yes
Konkan Yes Yes No
Nagpur Yes No Yes
Nashik Yes No Yes
Pune Yes No Yes

105 McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).2010. India’s Urban awakening: Building Inclusive cities, sustaining economic
growth. Mumbai: McKinsey Global Institute
106 KPMG. 2014. Decoding Housing for all by 2022. <

[Link] (accessed on 1 July

2017)

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Assumptions and basis for colour coding

Colour coding definitions for fly ash availability

Distance of TPP107 < 100 km and fly ash available
Distance of TPP < 300 km and fly ash available
None of the above

Fly ash is assumed "not available to meet additional future demand for the
production of fly ash based products" in TPP, when the present utilisation
percentage is greater than 98%.
Colour Coding definitions for clay availability
Clay is abundantly available, with thick clay deposits suitable for brick making
Clay is available in small pockets normally near rivers, water bodies, etc.
Clay is scarce

107 Thermal Power Plant

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Fly ash availability in Maharashtra as per CEA108 data

Table A5.21. Fly ash utilisation (%) of Maharashtra's thermal power plants

Utilisation
Name of TPS Power utility and state
(%)
1 TIRORA ADANI POWER Ltd. 60.5
2 MIHAN AMNEPL (No Generation) -
3 AMARAVATI TPS RattanIndia (formerly Indiabulls Power Ltd.) 49.6
IDEAL ENERGY PROJECTS Ltd.
4 BELA TPS -
(No Generation)
5 RATNAGIRI JSW Energy Ltd 100.4
6 BHUSAWAL M.S.P.G.C.L. 69.0
7 CHANDRAPUR M.S.P.G.C.L. 46.4
8 KHAPARKHEDA M.S.P.G.C.L. 86.4
9 KHAPARKHEDA (EXT) M.S.P.G.C.L. 2.5
10 KORADI M.S.P.G.C.L. 58.7
11 NASIK M.S.P.G.C.L. 98.0
12 PARLI M.S.P.G.C.L. 226.7
13 PARAS M.S.P.G.C.L. 96.0
14 MOUDA TPS [Link] 80.8
15 DAHANU RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE Ltd. 116.9
16 TROMBAY [Link]. 99.8
SAI WARDHA POWER Ltd.,
17 WPCL 124.3
WARORA
GMR WAROARA ENERGY
18 GMR WAROARA ENERGY Ltd. 87.3
Ltd.
DHARIWAL
19 Dhariwal Infrastructure Ltd. 86.7
INFRASTRUCTURE Ltd.
20 GEPL TPP GUPTA ENERGY Pvt. Ltd. (No Generation) -

The analysis of CEA data shows that out of installed 20 thermal power plants in the state of
Maharashtra, 6 of them have close to (or more than) 100% fly ash utilisation. The net available

108 Central Electricity Authority. 2016. Report on fly ash generation at coal/lignite based thermal power stations and its
utilization in the country for the year 2015-16. New Delhi: Central Electricity Authority.

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fly ash for utilisation in the state is 5.6 million tonnes fly ash.109 With the rising brick demand and
increasing consumption of fly ash by cement industry, the available quantity of fly ash is
inadequate, to fulfil the brick demand in future by itself (2027–32).

Type of building projects

Division-wise distribution of predominant form of construction for the state of Maharashtra has
been provided in the Table A5.22.

Table A5.22. Maharashtra's division-wise form of construction

Rural population
distribution (%)
Divisions Predominant form of construction Major cities
based on Census
2011
Urban Rural
Amravati 72% RCC110 RCC, Load bearing Akola, Amravati
Aurangabad 73% RCC RCC, Load bearing Aurangabad, Latur
RCC,
Konkan 22% MCC111 Load bearing Mumbai, Thane
Nagpur 58% RCC RCC, Load bearing Nagpur
Nashik 69% RCC RCC, Load bearing Nashik, Jalgaon
RCC, Pune, Kolhapur,
Pune 59% MCC RCC, Load bearing Solapur

Rural

Residential construction in rural areas is mostly single-story or low-rise construction. Except for
rural housing constructed by the government, most of the residential construction is self-
constructed or self-supervised by the owner by hiring the services of masons. Usually traditional
construction technologies (load bearing masonry construction, concrete framed construction with
masonry in-fill, etc.) are used in this segment.

Urban

109 Availability of Pond ash from a TPP has not been considered in this study
110 Reinforced Concrete Construction
111 Monolithic Concrete Construction

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Construction in urban areas is varied in terms of intended use, scale, agency responsible for the
construction, construction technology, etc. The main categories are:

Large-scale housing projects (Urban)

Large-scale housing projects refers to projects where several hundred or several thousands of
houses are constructed as a part of a single project. In this segment, there is a growing preference
for medium and high-rise construction. In most of the cities in this region, AAC blocks and
pulverized fuel ash bricks are being used for high rise construction. In places such as Pune and
Mumbai, there is move towards Monolithic Concrete Construction for high-rise buildings.

Low-rise housing (Urban)

The housing on smaller plots of land, urban slums and urban villages are mostly low-rise and self-
constructed. Usually traditional construction technologies and materials are used in this segment.
Burnt clay bricks and pulverised fuel ash bricks are the main walling materials. The penetration
of alternate materials is rather limited.

Market of bricks

The estimated market of bricks (2014/15) in the state of Maharashtra, for different types of bricks
is presented in table below. As no agency in the country has good data on the market of bricks,
the table has been prepared by compiling data from different studies.

Table A5.23. Market of bricks (2014/15) estimates in billion standard bricks/year

Type of brick Annual consumption Source

(billion bricks)

Solid burnt clay bricks 17112 billion bricks Based on figures of no. of kilns
from [Kumar S.2016]113 & avg.
production capacity of Clamps
from [Kumbhar S.2014114

112 There are 16,663 brick kilns in Maharashtra; out of which approximately around 200 are FCBTK with an avg,
production capacity of 5 million bricks per annum and the remaining kilns are Clamp kilns, with an avg. production
capacity of 1 million bricks per annum.
113 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST) at Chandigarh on 24 May 2016.
114 Kumbhar, et al. 2014. Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Traditional Bricks in Western Maharashtra, India

Energy Procedia. 54: 260–269.

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Pulverised fuel-ash lime/cement 3.6 billion bricks Based on fly ash utilisation
bricks data of CEA

[GKSPL.2016]115

AAC blocks 1.2 billion bricks Based on fly-ash utilisation

data of CEA

[GKSPL.2016]116

Concrete blocks 3 billion bricks Based on Census data for

2001 and 2011 regarding
walling materials

[GKSPL.2015]117

Total 25 billion bricks

The data shows that solid burnt clay bricks still retains ~68% of the market for bricks. The other
alternate bricks like concrete blocks, pulverised fuel-ash lime/cement bricks and AAC blocks
together make up for the rest of the market. The market for alternate bricks, particularly AAC
blocks, has grown during the last decade.

Manufacturing Industry

The manufacturing industry to produce bricks is spread throughout the states. The total number
of manufacturing units is around 22,000. Majority of the units are micro and small enterprises and
a large number of them show characteristics of informal sector. The number of manufacturing
enterprises of important masonry products have been provided in the Table A5.24.

Table A5.24. Brick manufacturing Industry (2014/15) no. of enterprises

Type of brick Manufacturing units Source

Solid burnt clay bricks 16,663 Based on production data

[TERI,2016]118

115 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (GKSPL). [Link] of fly ash based Walling Material
Production Inventory in India, Report prepared for Climate Studies Program, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
116 Ibid.
117 Discussed in Point 4 of Annexure 4.
118 Kumar S. 2016. TERI presentation titled “Options for Walling Materials and benefits of using REBs in building

construction”, organised by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST) at Chandigarh on 24 May 2016.

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Pulverised fuel-ash lime/cement ~3000 Based on fly ash utilisation data

bricks of CEA

[GKSPL,2016]119

AAC blocks 14 Based on fly ash utilisation data

of CEA

[GKSPL, 2016]120

Concrete blocks 1500-2500 Based on Census data for 2001

and 2011 regarding walling
materials

[GKSPL, 2015]121

Total ~22,000

Figure A5.46. Manufacturing clusters of masonry products in Maharashtra depicts the

geographical distribution of the brick manufacturing industry in Maharashtra.

Figure A5.46. Manufacturing clusters of masonry products in Maharashtra

119 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (GKSPL). [Link] of fly ash based Walling Material
Production Inventory in India, Report prepared for Climate Studies Program, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
120 Ibid
121 Discussed in Point 4 of Annexure 4

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Policy and Regulations

 Clamp Siting Criteria, 2016

 Environment Clearance (EC) by State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA)
 Consent to Establish’ and ‘Consent to Operate’ by State Pollution Control Board
 Mining regulations - Mining permit and royalty
 Maharashtra state Fly ash Utilization Policy, 2016

Projected annual demand for bricks for Maharashtra for 2027–32

 Urban residential brick demand: 35 billion bricks

 Rural residential brick demand: 13 billion bricks

The overall projected annual brick demand for the state of Maharashtra for 2027–32 is about 71
billion; which is almost three times the current demand.

Resource efficient brick pathways for transformation

The resource efficient brick pathways differ for different regions as well as differ for urban and
rural areas within a region. The potential resource efficient brick solutions for the six divisions are
shown in Table A5.25.

Table A5.25. Maharashtra's division-wise potential resource efficient brick solutions

Baseline 2016
Divisions Rural Urban
Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps), Fly
Amravati Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps)
ash bricks, AAC blocks
Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps), Fly
Aurangabad Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps)
ash bricks, AAC blocks
Solid Burnt clay bricks (Clamps),
Konkan Laterite Blocks
Monolithic Concrete Construction
Solid Burnt clay fly ash bricks Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps), Fly
Nagpur
(BTKs) ash bricks, AAC blocks
Solid Burnt clay fly ash bricks Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps), Fly
Nashik
(Clamps + a few BTKs) ash bricks, AAC blocks
Solid Burnt clay fly ash bricks Solid Burnt clay bricks (clamps), Fly
Pune
(BTKs), Fly ash bricks ash bricks, AAC blocks

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Potential resource efficient brick solutions

Divisions Rural Urban
Pulverized Fuel Ash Cement/ lime
AAC & CLC blocks, Pulverized Fuel
bricks, Solid Burnt Clay bricks
Ash Cement/ lime bricks, Perforated
Amravati (Efficient kilns), Perforated burnt
and Hollow burnt clay bricks, Hollow
clay bricks, CSEB, Hollow
Concrete blocks
Concrete blocks
Perforated burnt clay bricks, Solid
Burnt Clay bricks (Efficient kilns), Pulverised Fuel Ash Cement/ lime
Aurangabad Pulverised Fuel Ash Cement/ lime bricks, Perforated and Hollow burnt
bricks, CSEB, Hollow Concrete clay bricks, Hollow Concrete blocks
blocks

Konkan Hollow Concrete blocks Hollow Concrete blocks

Pulverised Fuel Ash Cement/ lime

AAC & CLC blocks, Pulverised Fuel
bricks, Solid Burnt Clay bricks
Ash Cement/ lime bricks, Perforated
Nagpur (Efficient kilns), Perforated burnt
and Hollow burnt clay bricks, Hollow
clay bricks, CSEB, Hollow
Concrete blocks
Concrete blocks
Perforated burnt clay bricks, Solid Pulverised Fuel Ash Cement/ lime
Burnt Clay bricks (Efficient kilns), bricks, Perforated and Hollow burnt
Nashik Pulverised Fuel Ash Cement/ lime clay bricks, Hollow Concrete blocks
bricks, CSEB, Hollow Concrete
blocks
Solid Burnt Clay bricks (Efficient
Perforated and Hollow burnt clay
Pune kilns), Perforated burnt clay bricks,
bricks, Hollow Concrete blocks
CSEB, Hollow Concrete blocks

Urban:

 Enterprises: Relatively larger investment (>INR 5 crore) with large degree of mechanisation/
automation
 Market: For mid- and high-rise construction, a product having lighter density and large block
size is preferred.

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Rural:

Relatively smaller production capacity with lower initial investment (INR 10 lakh to 2 crore), semi-
mechanised process.
Market: Mostly low-rise construction with a preference towards solid brick products because of
factors, such as, preference for load-bearing construction in some regions, safety and security
issues.

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Annexure 6: Projection methodology for market distribution of bricks

for future scenarios

Two scenarios have been developed for the future development of the brick sector in India. The
first scenario is the reference scenario which assumes that no fresh policy initiatives are taken
to promote resource efficient bricks and there is no change in the existing environment policies
and implementation structure. The other scenario is the resource efficient scenario. It is
assumed that under this scenario new policy initiatives will be undertaken for promoting resource
efficient bricks. Further, these initiatives will consider the regional differences in availability of raw
materials for producing bricks as well as requirements of different segments of the building
construction industry.

The 2032 brick demand projection is the average of the 2027–32 and 2032–37 brick demand
projections as explained in Section 4.1.

Assumptions made in the reference scenario.

1. Fly ash bricks and AAC blocks:

- Quantity of fly ash generated per unit electricity produced is calculated by dividing the coal-
based electricity generated in 2015122, by fly ash generated from the CEA fly ash utilisation
report for 2014-15.123

……. (1)

- Projected coal-based electricity generated in 2032 is taken from IESS,2047 for Determined
effort scenario (Level-2) ………. (2)

- Projection of fly ash generated in 2032 = (1) x (2)

- % of Fly ash utilisation has been assumed as 55% (the average % of utilisation over from the
year 2006/07 to 2015/16). The % fly ash utilised in bricks and the % fly ash utilised in others
have been taken as the same of 2014/15; i.e., 11.7% and 6.7%, respectively.

122 [Link] (accessed on 1 July 2017)

123 Central Electricity Authority. 2015. Report on fly ash generation at coal/lignite based thermal power stations and its
utilization in the country for the year 2014-15. New Delhi: Central Electricity Authority

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

- It is assumed that in the year 2032, 40% of fly ash (of the fly ash utilised in bricks) will be used
for manufacturing AAC blocks and the remaining for the manufacture of fly ash bricks. In 2015
it is estimated that 24% of fly ash used in bricks is used in manufacturing AAC blocks.

2. Perforated and hollow burnt clay bricks/blocks

- CAGR available for the period 2011 to 2015 have been assumed to remain unchanged till
2032.124 It has been assumed that perforated bricks are produced only in Region-2 and hollow
blocks Region-3

3. Concrete blocks:

- Region-wise CAGR between 2001 and 2011 of concrete block has estimated from Step 4 of
Annexure 4. The same region-wise CAGR is assumed to remain unchanged at the same level
till 2032.

4. Industrial construction

- This includes monolithic concrete construction, prefabricated concrete panels, etc. It is

assumed that 50% of the urban construction will be industrial construction by 2032.125

5. Kutcha Housing materials

- This analysis is restricted only to “pucca” houses.

6. Solid burnt clay bricks

126 &
&

- It has been assumed that the remaining brick requirement, which is the total brick requirement
minus the projected brick productions estimated in above Steps 1,2,3 and 4, will be fulfilled
by the solid burnt clay bricks. It has also been assumed that in this scenario, 50% of these
bricks will be manufactured using Zigzag kiln technology and the remaining 50% in
conventional FCBTKs.

124 Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd (GKSPL) 2016. Market assessment of burnt clay resource efficient
bricks. Report prepared for UNDP-GEF-MoEFCC project on “Energy Efficiency Improvements in the Indian Brick
Industry”.
125 It is assumed that by 2032, a large part of the building construction industry will become organized and the

penetration of the industrial construction technologies will increase. Under Housing for all, BMTPC has released
compendium of emerging technologies, which consists of several modes of industrial construction.
126 Explained in section 4.1 of this document

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Assumptions made in the resource efficient scenario.

The steps for projecting distribution of bricks and their demands are –

1. Defining regions and regional markets

2. Estimating regional market demands using IESS data
3. Estimating AAC and fly ash brick production and demand for industrial construction
4. Distributing various walling materials across regional markets

Step – 1: For this scenario, the manufacturing regions of walling material have been further
divided into the regional markets.

Table A6.26. Distribution of regions into regional markets

Regions Regional markets

Himalayan and North-eastern states, except 1. Urban Horizontal development127

Assam and Tripura 2. Urban Others128
3. Rural
4. Rural Others
Indo-Gangetic plains, Assam, and Tripura 1. Urban High-rise construction129
2. Urban Horizontal development
3. Urban Others
4. Rural
5. Rural Others
Peninsular, desert, and coastal regions 1. Urban High-rise construction
2. Urban Horizontal development
3. Urban Others
4. Rural
5. Rural Others

127 Based on Horizontal development as defined in IESS,2047 [NITI Aayog. 2015. India Energy Security Scenarios
excel tool “IESS_Version2.2”. <[Link] (accessed on 22 August 2017)]
128 Considering that in recent years, many new materials are being used for applications like paving, canal, drain

construction etc. In this study, the brick demand for other forms of construction is assumed as 25% of the urban and
rural brick demand for the entire period till 2047
129 Cumulative of High rise construction and affordable construction – based on the definitions of IESS,2047 [NITI

Aayog. 2015. India Energy Security Scenarios excel tool “IESS_Version2.2”.

<[Link] (accessed on 22 August 2017)]

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Step – 2: The methodology for estimating brick demand for the regional markets in 2032, has been explained in the flow chart (Figure
A6.47) below.

Figure A6.47. Flowchart for estimating regional market brick distribution

Note - IESS 2047, provides High rise%, Affordable % and Horizontal development for residential space requirement only. For our
projections, the same % has been assumed for commercial buildings.

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Step – 3: The assumptions for estimating the total production of AAC blocks and fly ash bricks
has been described below.

- Quantity of fly ash generated per unit electricity produced is calculated by dividing the coal-
based electricity generated in 2015,130 by fly ash generated from the CEA fly ash utilisation
report for 2014/15.131
132
……. (1)

- Projected coal-based electricity generated in 2032 is taken from IESS, 2047 for Determined
effort scenario (Level-2) ………. (2)

- Projection of fly ash generated in 2032 = (1) x (2)

- It has been assumed that 100% of annual fly ash generated in 2032 will be utilised, out of
which 20% will be utilised in bricks.

- It is assumed that 60% of fly ash (of the fly ash utilised in bricks) will be utilised for AAC and
the remaining 40% in fly ash bricks in the year 2032.

In case of Industrial construction such as Monolithic concrete construction (MCC), prefabricated

concrete panels, it is assumed that 50% of the urban construction will Industrial by 2032.

Step – 4: The distribution of various bricks across regional markets has been shown in the table
below –

130 [Link] (accessed on 1 July 2017)

131 Central Electricity Authority. 2015. Report on fly ash generation at coal/lignite based thermal power stations and its
utilization in the country for the year 2014-15. New Delhi: Central Electricity Authority
132 [Link] (accessed on 1 July 2017)

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Table A6.27. The distribution of various bricks across regional markets for ‘resource efficient scenario’

Solid
Solid burnt clay Burnt clay Hollow Perforated Fly ash Hollow concrete
AAC concrete CSEB
bricks - zigzag blocks bricks bricks blocks
blocks
50 % of (Urban AAC 50 % of (Urban
Urban -
0 0 Horizontal total - 0 production 0 Horizontal Total - 0
Horizontal
Himalayan and NE AAC) data AAC)
states except Assam Urban -
0 0 50% 0 0 25% 25% 0
and Tripura Others
(Region-1) Rural 50% 0 0 0 0 40% 0 10%
Rural
50% 0 0 0 0 50% 0 0
Others
AAC
Urban - Urban high-rise
0 0 0 production 0% 0 0%
High rise minus AAC Blocks
data
Bricks minus
3.2% total brick
Urban - flyash bricks assumed 60%
0 0 0 0 production in 0
Indo-Gangetic plains Horizontal minus hollow of region-2
region-2.133
and Assam and Tripura concrete
Urban - assumed 20%
(Region-2) 50%(Total-FA) 0 50%(Total-FA) 0 0 0 0
Others of region-2
50%(Total-FA- 50%(Total-FA- assumed 10%
Rural 0 0 0 0 5%
CSEB) CSEB) of region-2
Rural assumed 10%
Total-FA 0 0 0 0 0 0
Others of region-2
AAC
Urban -
0 50%(Total-AAC) 0 0 production 0 50% (Total-AAC) 0
High rise
data
6.3% total brick
Urban - 33%(Total-FA- 33%(Total-FA- assumed 60%
33%(Total-FA-HCB) 0 0 production in 0
Horizontal HCB) HCB) of region-3
Peninsular, desert, and region-3.
coastal Region (region- Urban - 50%(Total-FA- 50%(Total-FA- assumed 20% assumed 25%
0 0 0 0
3) Others SCB) SCB) of region-3 of urban others
50%(Total-FA- 50%(Total-FA- assumed 10% assumed 10%
Rural 0 0 0 5%
SCB-CSEB) SCB-CSEB) of region-3 of rural
Rural 50%(Total-FA- 50%(Total-FA- assumed 10% assumed 25%
0 0 0 0
Others SCB) SCB) of region-3 of rural others

Note: FA – flyash bricks, HCB – hollow concrete blocks, SCB – solid concrete block

133 Same as 2015.

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

Annexure 7. Speakers, Panellists and Participants of the Stakeholder  

Workshop (New Delhi, 7 June 2016)

S. No Name Organization
1 Megha Nikam IIT Bombay, Mumbai
2 Dara Singh Jindal Mechno Bricks P. Ltd., New Delhi
3 Vivek Taneja Thermax Ltd, Pune
4 Anand Damle DeBoer Damle, Pune
5 Shailesh Modi Fourth Vision, Ahmedabad
6 N Kalidas INSWAREB, Vishakhapatnam
7 Arshpreet Kalsi Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation

8 Kunal Sharma Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation

9 Pritpal Singh Punjab State Council for Science and Technology
10 Ashok B Lall Ashok Lall Architects
11 Satpal Jindal Jindal Mechno Bricks P. Ltd.
12 Divya Jindal Jindal Mechno Bricks P. Ltd.,
13 Anup Sharma Jindal Mechno Bricks P. Ltd.,
14 Mr Pankaj Sampat Gift City
15 Parveen Kumar MDF Eco Panel
16 J Barooah Jolly Barooah Associates
17 Ramesh Shrivastav PCLRA, Ahmedabad
18 Mr O P Badlani Prayag Clay Products Pvt Ltd
19 Ravi Kapoor Independent Energy Consultant
20 Simrandeep Kaur HSMI, HUDCO
21 Veni Nath JK Lakshmi Cement, Jhajjar
22 Arvind Varshney Confederation of Construction Products and Services
23 Sonia Dhull TERI
24 Pradeep Kumar GRIHA/TERI
25 Nakul Chaturvedi HSMI -HUDCO
26 Apurva HSMI -HUDCO
27 SMH Adil GEED India
28 Ashok Tewari Bengal Brick Field Owners Association
29 Sanjay Singh Bengal Brick Field Owners Association
30 Promod Adlakha Adlakha & Associates
Centre for Environment & Energy
31 Surabhi Shikha
Development(CEED)
32 Sumana Bhattacharya IORA Ecological Solutions

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Roadmap for Promoting Resource Efficient Bricks in India: A 2032 strategy

33 Rahul Kumar Centre for Science and Environment

34 Deependra Prashad Architect
35 Priyanka Kochhar GBCI
36 Daniel Ziegrer Embassy of Switzerland
37 Jessika Seddon OKAPI
38 T P Sankar TERI
39 Naman Mirajkar Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
40 Harman Singh Jolly Barooah Associates
41 Anand Shukla Embassy of Switzerland
42 Veena Joshi Independent Expert
43 Sandeep Ahuja Prayag Kiln Technologies Varanasi
44 Surendra Kumar HSMI-HUDCO, Lodhi Road
45 Satyendra Rana Greentech Knowledge Solutions
46 Mukesh Kumar J K Laxmi Cement
47 Anil Kumar BTECON
48 Vinod Rai Chandani Mahalaxmi & co.
49 Shweta Pandey IORA Ecological Solutions
50 Yatin Choudhary TERI
51 Kundan Dighe Wiener Berger India Pvt. Ltd.
52 Ziaur Rehman GEED India
53 Yogesh Aggarwal Bengal Brick Field owners association
54 Ashok Ghosh Bengal Brick Field owners association
55 Rajdeep Chowdhury Biltech
56 Swati Sharma WBCSD
57 Tanmay Tathagat Environment Design Solutions
58 Rohith GBCI
59 Sameer Maithel Greentech Knowledge Solutions
60 Sonal Kumar Greentech Knowledge Solutions
61 Saswati Chetia Greentech Knowledge Solutions
62 Prashant Bhanware Greentech Knowledge Solutions
63 Bharat Reddy Greentech Knowledge Solutions
64 Ananthakrishnan Ravi Greentech Knowledge Solutions
65 Vernica Prakash Greentech Knowledge Solutions
66 Vinay Sharma Greentech Knowledge Solutions
67 V S Kothari Greentech Knowledge Solutions
68 K P Eashwar ADCS
69 P Vignesh Raja ADCS
70 Smita Chandiwala Independent experts
71 Dr Satish Kumar Alliance for Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE)

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