Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: Rohit Choudhury wants a 15-km buffer zone around the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt. Ltd. facility in Jagiroad. He sent a letter to Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota on August 22. The demand targets pollution from cement plants and mining operations. Semiconductor production requires extreme air purity. Dust ruins the delicate work.
The Assam Cabinet originally set the 15-km limit on March 10, 2026. This area protects Ratan Tata Electronic City in Morigaon district. An RTI response from July 30, 2026, revealed the government now plans to exempt existing and pipeline projects. Officials are also weighing a proposal to shrink the protected zone to 5 km. Choudhury warned that these changes threaten the facility.
He demanded the state shut down stone mining, quarrying, and crushing units inside the restricted zone. "Choudhury argued that exempting existing polluting industries could undermine the environmental requirements of the semiconductor project." His representation went to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He also alerted the Union Environment Ministry, the Central Pollution Control Board, and the Assam Pollution Control Board. He wants a new, ironclad mechanism to track and enforce these environmental rules.
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