Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today responded to recent reports labelling Byrnihat as the world’s most polluted city wherein he again blamed industries in Assam for the high pollution levels.
Byrnihat straddles the inter-state border, with part of it located in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district and part of it in Assam. The town has a heavy concentration of industries, many of them heavily polluting.
Sangma, as he had done only a few days ago on March 5, laid the blame for Byrnihat’s poor air quality index (AQI) rating at the door of Assam.
He was responding to the IQAir World Air Quality Report 2024, which claimed Byrnihat recorded an average PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 microgrammes per cubic metre. Very fine particulate matter is a major health risk associated with lung and heart disease, cancer, etc and is responsible for millions of premature deaths globally every year.
The CM pointed out that data from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) collected from four manual ambient air quality monitoring stations in Byrnihat town indicated a much lower annual average PM2.5 concentration of 50.1 microgrammes per cubic metre for 2024. Furthermore, MSPCB’s monitoring from January to the first week of March 2025 found Byrnihat’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) to be satisfactory.
Sangma said that the MSPCB conducts surprise inspections of industrial units within its jurisdiction and this year uncovered serious violations that led it to issue closure notices to seven industrial units. This is expected to improve the Meghalaya side’s AQI. Across the border, however, Assam’s Byrnihat continued to indicate poor or very poor air quality on most days.
“This suggests that a major source of pollution in Byrnihat may be attributed to industries and activities on the Assam side,” the CM stated, adding that the Byrnihat industrial area in Assam has been designated as a critically polluted area by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
There are 20 “red category” industries in Byrnihat, Assam, compared to only five in Byrnihat, Meghalaya. In response, the Assam Pollution Control Board (APCB), under directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and CPCB, has prepared an action plan to restore and improve environmental conditions in Byrnihat, Assam, he informed.
Sangma once again informed the house that he has written to his counterpart in Assam, flagging the issue and calling for a joint action plan.
“I want to assure the citizens of Byrnihat that we are deeply concerned about this issue and will leave no stone unturned to resolve it or minimise it to the maximum extent possible,” Sangma said. “The health and environmental well-being of the region are of utmost priority for the government.”
