Thorough Industry Audit Needed: CM’s Decisive Move to Clean Up Byrnihat’s Industrial Sector

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Meghalaya Government Takes Swift Action to Tackle Byrnihat’s Pollution Nightmare

The Meghalaya government has sprung into action to tackle the alarming pollution levels in Byrnihat, dubbed the world’s most polluted urban space. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has instructed the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) to conduct a comprehensive audit and inspection of all industrial units in the area, with a deadline of just a week to submit a report to the Forest and Environment Department. This move comes on the heels of negative global and national reports on Byrnihat’s environmental situation.

The Chief Minister had earlier brought up the issue in the Budget session of the Assembly, expressing concern over the need for coordinated action between Assam and Meghalaya, as many of the polluting industries are situated in the Assam side of Byrnihat. He has also written to his Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma, seeking joint efforts to address the issue. The Assam Pollution Control Board has since initiated its own audit and inspection of industrial units, while the Meghalaya government is monitoring and reviewing pollution on its side of Byrnihat.

The MSPCB has already conducted surprise inspections at industrial units in the EPIP, revealing violations of pollution norms, including non-operation of pollution control devices and non-transmission of online emission data. As a result, the board issued closure notices to seven industrial units and imposed environmental compensation on two more. Despite the closure of these units on the Meghalaya side, the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station in the Assam part of Byrnihat continued to show “poor” or “very poor” air quality readings, indicating that the main sources of pollution lay on the Assam side.

Further, the MSPCB has engaged the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute to conduct an emission inventory and source apportionment study of Byrnihat, with the final report being prepared. The state government is taking a multi-faceted approach to address the issue, with the goal of improving Byrnihat’s notoriously poor air quality and creating a healthier environment for its residents.

Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2025/03/19/cm-seeks-thorough-audit-of-industrial-units-in-byrnihat/
Category : MEGHALAYA
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Publish Date: 2025-03-19 04:01:00