Guwahati: Meghalaya’s Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, during his assembly address on Thursday, calls for a joint action with neighbouring state Assam to tackle the Byrnihat pollution crisis affecting the border region of both states.
Conrad K. Sangma made the statement following the IQAir World Air Quality Report 2024, which reported Byrnihat as having an average PM 2.5 concentration of 128.2 micrograms per cubic meter.
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Citing the data from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) Sangma said that, the data shows a significantly lower annual average of 50.1 micrograms per cubic meter for 2024.
Following surprise inspections in January and February 2025, the MSPCB issued closure notices to several industrial units for violations including non-operation of pollution control devices and failure to transmit emission data, the Chief Minister added.
However, Byrnihat (Assam) still reflected air quality as “poor to very poor” as reported by the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station installed in the Central Academy for State Forest Service.
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“This indicates that the major sources of air pollution may be attributed to industrial and other activities along the Assam side,” the Chief Minister said.
Chief Minister also noted that, Byrnihat in Assam hosts 20 red-category industries compared to just five in Meghalaya’s Byrnihat. The Central Pollution Control Board has designated the Assam portion as a “critically polluted area.”
Chief minister also said that both state must address the issue together. Both states would implement existing legal provisions to collaboratively tackle the pollution crisis, he added.