Shared responsibility for India’s ‘most polluted’ border town stressed

Assam and Meghalaya collaborate to combat pollution in Byrnihat, India's most polluted town, through joint efforts and strict enforcement.

GUWAHATI

Assam and Meghalaya need to work together to make India’s most polluted town on the border between the two States more breathable, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has said.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ranked Byrnihat, an industrial town about 25 k.m. from Guwahati on the highway to Shillong, as the urban space with the worst air quality for the second successive year in 2024.

The town is dotted with industrial units, including coke plants, on either side of the Assam-Meghalaya border.

Mr. Sangma said on Thursday that he would formally discuss with his Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the need to initiate joint efforts to improve Byrnihat’s Air Quality Index (AQI).

He said both States must coordinate their efforts through their respective Pollution Control Boards to address the issue. “However, we will deal with the polluting units within our jurisdiction before urging Assam to take a similar action,” he said.

Mr. Sangma said the Meghalaya government had begun cracking down on the polluting units, with seven of them having been shut down for violating pollution norms. Environmental compensation was imposed on two industrial units.