India is the world’s second-largest brick producer after China, producing around 2 billion bricks annually and providing 9-10 million jobs. An estimated 1.4 lakh brick kilns operate across the country, with a large concentration in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Despite the sector’s significant economic and employment contribution, brick kilns have largely been viewed through the lens of air pollution and regulatory non-compliance, resulting in stricter regulations and orders to adopt cleaner technologies or shut down. In Uttar Pradesh, government regulations, including location restrictions and mandates for cleaner technologies such as zig-zag kilns, have sought to reduce emissions, but adoption remains limited. Key emission drivers include the use of poor-quality fuels, inefficient firing practices, heat loss and inadequate kiln insulation. At the same time, workers, many of whom are migrants and from socially disadvantaged communities, face poor working conditions, limited access to basic services, and significant skill and education gaps.

The sector’s transition is further constrained by deep mistrust among kiln owners, regulators, workers’ organisations and civil society, limited access to formal finance, seasonal operations, weak collective representation, and inadequate information and technical support for adopting cleaner technologies. While cleaner kilns can improve both production efficiency and socio-economic outcomes, these benefits remain poorly communicated to industry stakeholders and the wider public. The dominant narrative continues to focus on pollution, closures and labour violations, while technological progress, employment and the sector’s contribution to the construction economy receive limited attention. There is therefore a need for an evidence-led state action plan for a just and cleaner transition, combining stakeholder dialogue, stronger industry and worker representation, technology and skills support, financial incentives, consumer awareness, and coordinated action across environment, labour, industries, health, rural development and MSME departments.