The ban on digging of earth for making bricks and roads without prior environment clearance (EC) by the National Green Tribunal almost two months back has raised questions about how far it is being implemented in the State in general and Dibrugarh district in particular. The Supreme Court had passed a decision to this effect much earlier. Similarly, the Ministry of Environment and Forests had issued a directive outlawing digging of earth without EC. Hearing a plea for the implementation of the ban in UP, the Tribunal ordered all Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to ensure that the interim order is adhered to. But, the ban is yet to be in force in Dibrugarh district. Around 96 brick kilns are functioning just in Demow, Chokolia, Sepon and its surrounding villages, which border Dibrugarh–Sivasagar districts. The number is much higher when kilns in other parts of the district are taken into consideration. Given the existence of these establishments, it can be safely concluded that cutting of earth is still going on. A person formerly associated with the business, on the condition of anonymity, said that the brick kilns in and around Demow are thickly spaced and are in competition with each other for earth. The business, which was hit around five years ago by the spree of killing of Bihari workers by ULFA, is mostly owned by locals. Since then, the number of workers from outside the State has come down drastically with local villagers stepping in to fill the vacuum. Unlike earlier when the bricks were shaped and then burnt in the kilns itself, it has become a common practice for contractors to buy the top soil from the fields at abysmal rates, prepare the mix for bricks and shape them before taking them to the kilns for burning. The villagers in and around the area have mostly given up cultivation and see nothing amiss in selling the earth from the fields. Some months back, the circle office had lodged complaints against 12 brick kilns at Demow police station for not following the rules but it is not known what action was finally taken against them. It can be safely said that most of these establishments do not have the environment clearance. Meanwhile, rampant earth cutting for brick kiln near the bank of Dehing river at Tingrai in Tengakhat has left holes all around. The locals fear that if the river changes its course, it would sweep away the entire area taking with it their houses and rendering them homeless. The ban has brought up the possibility of a setback in the flourishing construction business in the town. The coming up of multi–storeyed buildings with flats has become a common sight in Dibrugarh. But if earth cutting is truly stopped unless the kilns have EC, the price of bricks is bound to rise and consequently affect the business. While talking to a supplier of construction materials about the availability of bricks, he promised to meet any order for bricks. However, for now, it remains to be seen whether the earth cutting business survives the ban, if implemented.