Byrnihat today is in an unenviable position of being the most polluted area in the country. This despite the frequent checking by the under-staffed State Pollution Control Board. Recently some industrial units particularly steel producing ones were ostensibly sealed but the fact is that Byrnihat has a number of coke units too and some along the roadside. Not long ago students of a school in Byrnihat were taken ill after participating in sporting events probably because while running they gulped in toxic air. The principal of the school raised a hue and cry but surprisingly some groups from the area came in support of the industries and said the principal was making unsubstantiated allegations. That again is the sore point here. Polluting units pay these pressure groups to stand in their defence, when the same groups should have been the anti-pollution watchdogs. Engineers of the State Pollution Control Board have opined that the pollution is not entirely from the Meghalaya side of the border but that industrial units including brick kilns and other polluting industries from the Assam side of the border also add to the poor AQI in the area. For several years now a heavy smog hangs over the atmosphere. Unfortunately, no health research has been conducted to establish with evidence the consequences of such ongoing pollution over a long period of time. Since the Byrnihat pollution is an inter-state matter the need of the hour is for the Central Pollution Control Board to step in and seal the polluting industries in both states – Assam and Meghalaya. No economic activity can be allowed to carry on at the cost of the environment.
The Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Byrnihat came up in 2011 under the central government scheme of giving tax holidays to industries investing in North East India. Since 2015 the State Pollution Board has been monitoring the area for three pollutants viz. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Particulate Matter (PM10). Monitoring is carried out for 24 hours (4 hourly sampling for gaseous pollutants and 8 hourly sampling for particulate matter). The monitoring of meteorological parameters such as wind speed and direction, relative humidity and temperature was also integrated with the monitoring of the air quality. The air quality monitoring Data is submitted on a monthly basis for compilation and interpretation. Based on the Air monitoring data, the level of Particulate Matter (PM10) was observed to be exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS),2009 consecutively during 2011-2015. The air quality generated over the years in the monitored station reveals that PM10 (Particulate Matter) concentration exceeds the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (Annual Average). The State Pollution Board had recommended that in order to prevent further deterioration and improvement of the ambient air quality in the area there is an immediate need for taking necessary preventive and control measures but this was ignored by the State Government. Now that the central government too is apprised of the situation the CPCB should take immediate action.
