The district magistrate on Saturday issued a notice to all brick kilns operating in Gautam Budh Nagar, warning them of serious consequences if they continue to operate without mandatory environmental clearances.

The DM's notice follows the order of National Green Tribunal on November 23 where it had directed 21 hot mix plants in Noida and Greater Noida to be shut forthwith for polluting the air.

According to the district administration, only one brick kiln operator had applied for permission for operating his facility. "On Saturday, we have issued notices to 117 individual brick kiln entrepreneurs and asked them to procure the relevant clearances. If we find that documents are not in order and clearances are not in place, we will seal the kilns and also impose hefty penalties starting from Rs 50,000"

The brick kilns are supposed to get clearances from state level environment impact assessment authority (SEIAA), ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF & CC) and district environment impact assessment authority (DEIAA).