Crackdown on Byrnihat pollution: Assam threatens industrial shutdowns

Jorabat, March 19: Following Byrnihat's alarming distinction as the world's most polluted city in the World Air Quality Report 2024, the Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) has been tasked with ensuring strict compliance, warning industries that fail to adhere to environmental norms and impose stringent action, including potential shutdowns.

This was decided during a meeting, led by Dimoria co-district commissioner Biswajit Saikia, on Tuesday. The meeting brought together officials from the PCBA, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and local administration, including representatives from about 40 industries, to devise an immediate action plan to curb rising pollution levels.

The meeting witnessed industries being directed to implement a two-pronged strategy-corrective measures for compliance and strict enforcement actions against violators. Under the corrective measures, industries have been given a phased timeline, with short-term steps to be executed within six months, mid-term actions thereafter, and long-term sustainability plans in place.

Immediate directives include rectifying chimneys to meet standard height norms and converting at least 30 per cent of industrial campuses into green zones by planting trees in a phased manner.

Enforcement measures are set to begin on Wednesday, with officials conducting field inspections to verify industrial records and scrutinize pollution control mechanisms. Notably, discrepancies have already emerged, with official records failing to match the actual number of industries operating in the region, raising concerns about unregulated units.

Sources indicate that illegal factories could face immediate closure.

This latest crackdown follows a long period of inaction, with a Byrnihat-specific action plan drawn up more than a year ago failing to gain traction.

Seeking a more data-driven approach, officials now plan to commission a source apportionment study, likely with IIT or a professional agency, to determine the dominant contributors to Byrnihat's toxic air-whether from industrial emissions or the relentless dust churned up by heavy truck movement in the area.