SHILLONG, Feb 19: The issue of pollution in Byrnihat, which made the news recently, became a meaty subject of discussion in the Assembly here on Monday, leading to the government agreeing to examine the idea of a joint inspection with Assam in a bid to curb the pollution.
NPP MLA from Jirang Sosthenes Sohtun raised concern over Byrnihat town earning the tag of the ‘most polluted urban centre’ in the country in 2023 surpassing even the national capital in terms of air quality.
Moving a call attention motion during the Assembly budget session, Sohtun recalled that the Central Pollution Control Board in October 2023 had marked Byrnihat, an industrial town bordering Assam, as the ‘most polluted urban centre’.
He however admitted that the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MPSCB) has made efforts to mitigate pollution in the town.
The NPP legislator pointed out that many factories coming up on the Assam side may be contributing to the degrading of air quality in Byrnihat.
Following this, Sohtun suggested that the state government should conduct a joint inspection with Assam at the Deputy Commissioners’ level to find ways to address the air pollution.
The Jirang MLA also flagged the increasing population of Byrnihat.
“We have noticed garbage being dumped on the roadside and even along the river side. This may be the main cause of pollution of the river and environment,” Sohtun said.
According to him, the problem emerged since there is no proper dumping ground for the people of Byrnihat town.
He also suggested that the MSPCB may set up an office at Byrnihat to monitor the air and water quality regularly and address the environmental issues instantly.
Responding to these concerns, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said an independent study has been carried out, adding that official data findings show that the air quality is in moderate level.
It has never dipped to poor or severe, he added.
Acknowledging Sohtun’s concern about industries on Assam adding to the air pollution in Byrnihat, Sangma said there is a large industrial setup across the border line. It could be impacting the overall assessment made by the national agencies as pollution does not know state borders, he said.
The CM said that the readings on the Assam’s side could be affected by Meghalaya and the readings for Meghalaya could be affected by Assam.
Stating that the government is not taking the matter lightly, Sangma said, “…the pollution control board has really moved into a more aggressive action. We now have equipment that will provide us live and online data on the air quality on a daily basis, if required,” he said.
On the suggestion of a joint action plan, the CM said, “We will examine this suggestion to have a joint inspection.”
