Meghalaya has several regulatory authorities, but none bother to implement the rules prescribed by the Government from time to time. Whether monitoring river pollution within Shillong city or the much-discussed Byrnihat Industrial complex, the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board (SPCB) is in a state of perpetual denial. At this point, it is imperative for the Government of Meghalaya to establish an independent pollution monitoring agency and stop relying on its own ineffective Pollution Control Board. While the Chief Minister announced that all rivers in and around Shillong would be cleaned up in time for the National Games in 2027, the plight of the Umkhrah and Umshyrpi Rivers remains pathetic. Groups cleaning the Umkaliar River collect several tonnes of garbage on a bi-monthly basis. Yet the MSPCB has not once inspected the entire stretch of the Umkaliar River to determine which of the four Dorbar Shnong localities—Lapalang, Nongrah, Rynjah, Umpling, or Nongmynsong—is the heaviest polluter. These shnongs should actually be heavily penalized for killing the Umkaliar River, not only by dumping garbage into it but also by allowing kitchen wastewater and septic tank contents to flow directly into the river and by permitting vehicles to be washed in it. This despite the amended Meghalaya Building Bye-Laws, 2021, which states that where a plot is located adjacent to a water body (stream or river), the building regulations are to be governed additionally by the Meghalaya Water Bodies (Conservation & Protection) Guidelines.
Under the Meghalaya Water Bodies (Conservation & Protection) Guidelines, the minimum setback depends on the width of the river: If the width of the river is 3 metres the minimum setback or distance from the river on which a residential or other building can be built is 3 metres away from the river. If the width of the river is more than 3 metres wide the setback has to be 6 metres wide. The amendment fundamentally changed how construction near rivers is regulated. Instead of prescribing a single setback in the Building Bye-Laws themselves, it links building permissions to the more detailed Meghalaya Waterbodies (Conservation and Protection) Amendment Guidelines, 2023. The amendment stipulates that anyone constructing a building beside a river must comply not only with the Building Bye-Laws (setbacks from roads, neighbours, FAR, height, etc.) but also with the Waterbodies Guidelines.
The Guidelines also create a regulated zone beyond the setback. Its width is four times the applicable waterbody setback. Within this regulated zone, development is controlled rather than absolutely prohibited, and additional environmental and planning restrictions may apply. The amended Guidelines further prohibit or restrict hoardings, billboards and certain buildings within the waterbody setback and regulated zones where necessary to preserve scenic vistas and unobstructed views of rivers and streams. In effect therefore the Meghalaya Water Bodies (Conservation & Protection) Amendment Guidelines, 2023, strictly prescribe how buildings whether residential or otherwise cannot violate the waterbody setback but along the Umkaliar River new buildings, including a church have come up right on the water body and the Dorbar Shnong, the KHADC and the other regulatory authorities of the Government including the Pollution Control Board are all looking the other way. This is Meghalaya’s congenital disorder – that laws are made to be flouted with impunity and no one really cares to take action against violators. Will the Government please respond?
