Shillong, Jun 30: Acting on public concern sparked by a video media report, the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) carried out an inspection of an ethanol/distillery plant at Byrnihat’s Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) today and found that its pollution levels were within acceptable limits.
Social media was abuzz with images and video of the plant, which was ostensibly producing ethanol as part of India’s green energy push.
The MSPCB took suo motu notice of the report and did not wait for a formal complaint before carrying out the inspection. This contrasts with cabinet minister Wailadmiki Shylla, who said yesterday that no action could be taken without a formal complaint.
The MSPCB taskforce visited Umiam Distillation Pvt Ltd today morning and carried out source-emission monitoring of the unit. Particulate matter (PM) was the principal parameter measured, alongside stack velocity, differential pressure and temperature.
The PM concentration at the unit was found to be within the prescribed limits, at 23.1 mg/Nm³ against an acceptable limit of 50 mg/Nm³.
At Umiam Distillation, the pollution-control devices, an electrostatic precipitator on the captive power plant and a multi-effect evaporator with a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system on the distillation unit were found operational. The 580 KLD ZLD plant was in working condition, with treated water being reused in the cooling tower. Water samples of both raw and treated effluent were collected and have been sent for analysis, the MSPCB informed through a release.
Byrnihat, an industrial town that straddles the Meghalaya-Assam border, has been recognised as one of the world’s most polluted urban areas or, as the MSPCB referred to it, as a “notified non-attainment town under the National Clean Air Programme”. Regardless, Byrnihat remains under the MSPCB’s “continuous watch”, it said.
Over the past two years the board has ordered the closure of multiple non-compliant red-category units and strengthened ambient monitoring in the area. The MSPCB “is mindful of the health concerns expressed by residents and reiterates that its monitoring and enforcement in Byrnihat are continuous and transparent.”
