Driving change in the brick manufacturing industry in India through the rera regulatory mechanism

ABSTRACT

The real estate sector in India is among the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The two major issues that builders are confronted with in the post-Covid scenario are flight of migrant labour and shortage of raw-materials, particularly of bricks. This paper focuses on the technological, environmental and social issues that surround brick-production, impacting their supply to the real estate sector, and proposes a long-term solution which involves utilising the RERA regulatory mechanism. Mechanised units contribute less than 1% of the total brick production in India. The environmental hazards of brick manufacturing include air pollution due to the enormous use of coal, posing a hazard to the health of workers as well as to the surrounding environment, and also contribute to global warming by way of an enlarged carbon footprint. There seems to be a regulatory breakdown insofar as the brick manufacturing sector in India is concerned. Because of its direct stake in the sector, the regulatory mechanism established by the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 could be entrusted with a monitoring role to drive technological change and safety, the legal basis for which already exists in the RERA Act. The paper proposes a minor amendment, which would catalyse labour reform as well as technological up-gradation in the brick making industry. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.