Shillong-Dawki Road project
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 31: The Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) on Friday issued a directive to the Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) over environmental lapses detected in the implementation of the ongoing Shillong-Dawki Road project.
In a letter addressed to the PMU General Manager under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, MSPCB Chairman R. Nainamalai cited multiple violations observed during an inspection conducted earlier in the day.
The directive refers to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 and its amendment which apply to linear infrastructure projects such as highways, pipelines, and railways involving extraction or sourcing of earth exceeding 20,000 cubic meters.
Nainamalai said that the inspection revealed extensive excavation, earthwork, and filling activities along the under-construction Shillong-Dawki Road, which has been divided into five project packages.
The Board noted that large quantities of excavated soil were being dumped along the roadside without adequate containment or stabilisation measures.
At the Pynursla-Dawki Bridge area, filling works carried out after a recent landslide were found to be unstable due to the absence of retaining structures such as sandbags. The MSPCB observed that the loose filling materials were sliding toward the Umngot River, increasing the risk of erosion and siltation.
At the new Dawki Bridge construction site, inspectors found extensive hill-cutting activities, with large amounts of debris sliding down the slopes into the Umngot River, further contributing to sedimentation.
During the inspection at Shnongpdeng, a popular tourist destination, the river water was found to be turbid and muddy. Locals informed the inspection team that the Umngot River had remained persistently turbid for some time. Water samples were collected for laboratory analysis to determine turbidity levels and other parameters.
In the Darang area, local resident Trebor Suchen informed officials that the source of turbidity seemed to originate from Wah Umsong near Laitlyngkot — within Package II of the project — where large quantities of excavated soil had reportedly been dumped near a tributary of the Umngot River, the MSPCB chairman said.
The directives issued by the Board include immediate removal of construction and demolition waste dumped in the Umngot River, ensuring that all contractors apply for consent to establish/operate from the Board within 15 days, enforcing the Meghalaya stone crusher order among all contractors, especially regarding the use and sourcing of boulders.
The MSPCB also directed NHIDCL to submit an action taken report at the earliest.
