JOINT CIRCULAR No. 07/LB-TT GUIDING THE PRODUCTION OF BAKED BRICKS AND TILES TO PROTECT AGRICULTURAL LAND

JOINT CIRCULAR OF THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION AND THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT FOR LAND MANAGEMENT

ON THE PRODUCTION OF CLAY BRICKS AND ROOFING TILE TO PROTECT AGRICULTURAL LAND
Guidelines for
At present, there are many facilities producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles in the country, including both state-owned enterprises and thousands of production units of cooperatives, economic organizations, and private individuals. With an annual production volume of 3 to 4 billion pieces, these facilities consume hundreds of hectares of land. In reality, during the production process of non-state-owned entities, due to the lack of planning, guidance, and management by the State, significant damage has been caused to agricultural land, violating laws on land management and use, forest protection and development, and the Ordinance on Mineral Resource Protection; at the same time, this has caused losses to consumers because the product quality does not meet standards and has negatively impacted the environment.

Pursuant to the Land Law, the Ordinance on Mineral Resources, the Ordinance on Product Quality, and Directive No. 119/HĐBT dated April 2, 1984 on developing brick and roofing tile production and protecting agricultural land.

The Ministry of Construction and the General Department for Land Management hereby issues this Circular to regulate the production of fired clay bricks and roofing tiles, prevent the arbitrary use of agricultural land. To bring the production of fired clay bricks and roofing tiles into compliance with the law.

I. REGULATIONS ON CONDITIONS FOR PRODUCTION

OF FIRED CLAY BRICKS AND ROOFING TILES
The conditions for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles serve as the basis for provincial People's Committees to issue decisions on establishing enterprises or issuing permits (for individuals) and for land management agencies to allocate land for brick and roofing tile production.

1. Organizations and individuals producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles must meet the following conditions:

- They must have an economic and technical feasibility study or report on production plans (for private individuals). The feasibility study must include a reasonable production technology chain for fired clay bricks and roofing tiles, with appropriate technical investment suitable for each type of soil and product ensuring quality according to TCVN 1450-85 (hollow bricks) and TCVN 1452-86 (for various types of roofing tiles).

- For facilities that have not produced products according to national standards, they must register product quality and brand names according to the Ordinance on Product Quality and Regulation No. 255-BXD/VLXD dated October 15, 1989 on managing brand names and quality of construction materials in production and business operations.

- They must have an environmental protection plan, ensuring no adverse impact on nearby producers.

2. Other specific conditions for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles shall be determined by provincial People's Committees through the Construction Departments, in accordance with the characteristics of each locality.

3. Responsibilities for assessing production conditions.

- For enterprises, the Construction Department is responsible for assessing the production and business conditions for fired clay bricks and roofing tiles to submit to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making. For large brick and roofing tile factories with high technological levels, the assessment process by the Construction Department will be guided by the Ministry of Construction.

- For individuals and production groups with statutory capital lower than the capital specified in Decree No. 221-HĐBT dated July 23, 1992, the Construction Office will assess the production and business conditions for fired clay bricks and roofing tiles to submit to the district People's Committee and equivalent authorities for issuance of practice licenses.

4. When there is a decision by the competent People's Committee as stipulated in point B, item I, the land management agency will proceed with the procedures to allocate land to enterprises or individuals producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles.

II. REGULATIONS ON LAND USE FOR PRODUCTION OF FIRED CLAY BRICKS AND ROOFING TILES

1. Land for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles is land that meets the requirements of the technology, but primarily should utilize uncultivated hillside land, barren gully land, riverbed land, lake bottom land requiring deepening, unused riverbank land, abandoned dike land, land converted from paddy fields... (hereinafter referred to as utilized land).

In cases where such sources of land are unavailable, other sources such as infertile paddy field land, saline-affected land, acid sulfate-affected land, laterite land... which have been converted to specialized use and planned for fired clay brick and roofing tile production may be used.

2. The authority to allocate land for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles is provided for in point b, Clause 3, Article 13 of the Land Law and point 3, Article 14 of Decree No. 95/HĐBT dated March 25, 1992 on implementing the Ordinance on Mineral Resources.

Central and local land management agencies are responsible before the Government and local People's Councils for assessing and processing land allocation procedures for fired clay brick and roofing tile production.

3. Conditions for requesting land allocation for fired clay brick and roofing tile production:

a) Must have a production and business operation decision or permit as stipulated in point 3, item I of this Circular.

b) The land for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles must comply with the local land use planning and the Land Law.

c) Must have sufficient reserves and soil composition suitable for the production of fired clay bricks and roofing tiles.

4. Organizations and individuals allocated land under Article 46 of the Land Law for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles must compensate according to Decision No. 186/HĐBT dated May 31, 1990 and Circular No. 18/BTC dated June 5, 1992 of the Ministry of Finance.

5. The period for allocating land for producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles is based on the scale of production and the amount of exploitable land recorded in the land allocation decision. However, it cannot exceed 10 years. Upon expiration, organizations and individuals wishing to continue using the land must submit a request to the competent land allocation authority and the relevant local industry management agency for consideration and decision.

6. Households producing fired clay bricks and roofing tiles once for their own use may only use utilized land when transforming farmland (reducing soil depth).

- For areas up to 100 square meters, the decision is made by the commune People's Committee.

- For areas less than 300 square meters, the decision is made by the district People's Committee.² The decision must clearly specify the location, quantity of land to be extracted for one-time production, and ensure the preservation of the topsoil layer for return to agricultural production.

- For areas under 300 square meters² shall be decided by the People's Committee of the district.

The Decision shall specify the location, quantity of land to be extracted for one production cycle, and must ensure the protection of the topsoil layer to be returned for agricultural production.

7. Organizations and individuals permitted to use land for producing fired bricks and roof tiles must use land rationally, economically, in accordance with the purpose, boundaries, and fully comply with the provisions of Articles 45, 46, and 48 of the Land Law; they shall not arbitrarily expand the scope of exploitation. Upon expiration of the usage period, the land must be returned in the condition specified in the land allocation decision.

8. It is strictly prohibited to use the following types of land for producing fired bricks and roof tiles: land containing historical, cultural, scenic spots and landmarks that have been ranked and land within the protected zones of such sites; land within the traffic safety zone according to the regulations of the transportation sector; land within the flood protection dike protection zone as stipulated in Article 2 and Clause 2 of Article 5 of Decree 429/HĐBT dated December 15, 1990, on the implementation of the Dike Protection Ordinance.

Large cities should study appropriate solutions for construction materials to replace part of fired bricks and roof tiles, such as investing in developing silica bricks, cement corrugated sheets, plastic materials, and metal materials...

9. This Circular takes effect from the date of signature; all previous regulations contrary to this Circular are abolished. Provincial People's Committees, municipalities directly under the Central Government, Ministries, Sectors, and organizations and individuals engaged in the production and business of fired bricks and roof tiles are responsible for implementing this Circular.

During the implementation process, the Construction Sector and land management at local levels need to closely coordinate with each other to ensure effective management. If there are any difficulties, localities, Ministries, and Sectors are requested to report to the Ministry of Construction and the General Department of Land Administration for research and resolution.