Shillong, March 13: In response to reports labelling of Byrnihat as the world’s most polluted town, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has assured that a joint action plan with Assam will be developed to tackle the air pollution crisis in the border town. At the same time, he questioned the findings of IQAir’s World Air Quality Report 2024, citing significantly lower pollution levels recorded by Meghalaya’s own monitoring stations compared to those reported by IQAir.

Giving a suo moto statement in reaction to reports that “Byrnihat is the world’s most polluted city/town”, Sangma stated that he had written to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, seeking a coordinated effort to address the issue, given that both states have industrial establishments in the region.

“I have requested him (Assam CM) to develop a joint action plan (to address the issue) as Byrnihat being a border town where both sides have industrial establishments,” Sangma told the Meghalaya Assembly on Thursday, assuring the citizens that the government is committed to resolving the crisis.

“We will leave no stone unturned to ensure this issue is resolved and minimized,” he added, emphasizing that both states must work together to address the environmental challenges.

The controversy erupted after IQAir’s World Air Quality Report 2024 claimed Byrnihat recorded an average PM2.5 concentration of 128.2 µg/m³, making it one of the most polluted locations globally. However, Meghalaya’s official data from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) tells a different story. According to its four manual ambient air quality monitoring stations in Byrnihat, the actual annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2024 was 50.1 µg/m³, far lower than the IQAir estimate.

Additionally, data collected by MSPCB from January to the first week of March 2025 showed that Byrnihat’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was ‘Satisfactory’, with readings of: January- AQI 94, February – AQI 92, March (First Week) – AQI 97.

In an effort to control pollution, MSPCB has also conducted surprise inspections at industrial units in EPIP and 13th Mile on January 24, 27, and 31, and February 5, 2025. These inspections revealed multiple violations of pollution norms, including excessive emissions from chimneys due to non-functional pollution control devices; ineffective pollution control systems; and failure to transmit real-time emission data online.

As a result, seven industrial units in Byrnihat were shut down between January 29 and March 11, 2025, and environmental compensation fines were imposed on two additional units.

Despite these actions, the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) in Byrnihat, Assam, continued to record “Poor” and “Very Poor” AQI levels on most days, indicating that major sources of pollution may be on the Assam side of the border.

The Meghalaya CM informed that the Byrnihat Industrial Area in Assam, that runs along Byrnihat town of Meghalaya, has been designated as a Critically Polluted Area (CPA) by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi. In fact, he pointed out, that there are 20 ‘Red Category’ industries in Byrnihat, Assam, as compared to 5 in the Meghalaya side. Additionally, while Meghalaya has 14 industries in green category, Assam has just 4.

As per direction of the NGT and CPCB, the Assam PCB has prepared an Action Plan and adequate measures are being taken to restore and improve the environmental quality of Byrnihat area of Assam.

He further informed that to get a clearer picture of the pollution crisis, MSPCB has engaged the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Kolkata, to conduct a detailed Emission Inventory & Source Apportionment study of Byrnihat. This study will identify the major sources of pollutants, quantify pollution levels in the area, and trace pollution sources using receptor modelling techniques. The study has been completed, and the final report is under preparation.

While Meghalaya has been singled out in the pollution report, Sangma clarified that the problem extends to both sides of the border and these issues have to be addressed by both the states adding there are laws to ensure states work together to address such issues.

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