Meghalaya orders immediate ban on sewage discharge into polluted rivers

The East Khasi Hills District administration has issued an emergency order prohibiting the unauthorised discharge of untreated sewage and waste disposal into the heavily polluted Umkhrah and Umshyrpi rivers in Shillong.

District Magistrate RM Kurbah issued the prohibition under Section 163 of the BNSS following alarming test results from the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board that showed "no significant improvement in water quality" at several critical monitoring points.

"The increase in parameters viz Biological Oxygen Demand & Faecal Coliform, unauthorized discharge of domestic sewage from septic tanks into the water bodies and throwing/dumping of garbage on street/water body, thus, polluting the river and making it unfit for domestic uses and aquatic lives as well," the order stated.

The ban specifically targets six locations showing severe contamination: Umshyrpi near Law College, Umshyrpi at Umshyrpi Bridge, Umkhrah at Demthring, Umkhrah at Umkaliar, Umkhrah near the slaughterhouse at Mawlai Phudmuri, and Umkhrah at Mawpdang Mawlai.

Authorities warned that violations would result in prosecution under Section 223 of the BNS and additional legal action under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

The emergency order took immediate effect on May 13, with the District Magistrate citing that such pollution activities "not only cause Air and Water Pollution but also pose health hazards to the citizens of this District."

Environmental experts have long raised concerns about Shillong's deteriorating water bodies, which have suffered from decades of unregulated waste disposal and inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure.