Shillong, Sept 4: A team of Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) officials led by Principal Secretary of Forest & Environment, Sampath Kumar, on Tuesday ordered closure of 6 industrial units operating in Byrnihat area of Meghalaya for violating environmental norms set by the board.

The team inspected 10 industrial units to enforce environmental regulations, and found 6 units in violation and lacking or malfunctioning devices that are needed to monitor emission norms.

This inspection was prompted by the industrial units’ repeated non-compliance with the directives previously issued by the MSPCB.

During the inspection, it was discovered that the industrial units lacked a properly designated meter for the Pollution Control Device (PCD), raising significant concerns about the effectiveness of its pollution management practices. Moreover, the inspection revealed an alarmingly high PM2.5 level of 64.2 μg/m³, well above the threshold at which air quality is considered unhealthy (35 μg/m³ over 24 hours).

Despite multiple directives from the MSPCB, which mandated the control of Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) emissions within prescribed limits, the industrial units did not have proper operation of the PCD and the installation of the Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System (OCEMS) in all stacks.

As a result of these violations, the MSPCB has issued a closure notice to 6 pollution-emitting industries found during the inspection, effectively halting their operations until full compliance with environmental regulations is achieved.

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