State environment minister and mayor Sovan Chatterjee, refuting allegations that Kolkata air quality has degraded severely paving way for high air pollution, today said that the city is in a much better condition as compared to Delhi and other big states while air quality statistics shared by the US Consulate in the city is only limited to the area where it is based.

Addressing a Press conference, Mr Chatterjee said: “We have been hearing from several places that the air quality in Kolkata and Howrah has degraded severely during this winter. The state government is equally worried about the issue and is taking all necessary measures. However, it is being circulated by the media that the air quality in the city has become worse than Delhi.

This is absolutely wrong and is creating panic among citizens. In winter, the air quality reduces every year as the cold and heavy winds are unable to move upwards and hence pollutants created mostly float in the air in lower levels. The conditions improve by the end of winter.”

The minister added: “It has been observed that some reports are producing data that have been gathered from the US Consulate in Kolkata who update information regarding air quality on their website. But, these statistics are only limited to the area where the consulate is based, in Ho Chi Minh Sarani, and does not apply to the whole of the city.

One could see that the report of the US Consulate in Delhi has discrepancies with the air pollution statistics of Delhi in its entirety. The area where the consulate is based in Delhi is surrounded by ample greenery whereas the one located here is surrounded by busy roads and hence the reports tend to differ from the statistics given out by West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB).” Statistics brought out by the WBPCB, however, clearly states that the PM 2.5 readings on few days are higher in Kolkata as compared to Delhi.

The readings for 8, 11, 12 and 15 January show higher PM 2.5 than in Delhi. The PM 2.5 is an air pollutant that is a concern for people’s health when levels in air are high. These are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility.

Mr Chatterjee pointed out: “The WBPCB measures air quality from 17 places in Kolkata besides five in Howrah. Among the 17 places in Kolkata, two automatic machines were installed on the premises of Victoria Memorial and Rabindra Bharati University in 2002. Last October, these machines were replaced by new ones whose installation work is on and presently no data could be retrieved from these machines.”

Kalyan Rudra, chairman of WBPCB, said: “We wanted to take up the upgradation work of the machines during summer time but we had strict instructions from the Centre that the work cannot be taken up during the Fifa Under-17 World Cup and hence it got delayed.” “We are taking initiatives to reduce air pollution under the Green City mission.

The process to bring out CNG based vehicles in the city are in process. Apart from this, we are planting trees everyday to increase greenery and reduce pollution,” said the minister said.