The Supreme Court on Wednesday prohibited registration of high-end diesel SUVs in Delhi from April 1 to curb air-pollution. But Patna, which is only second to the national capital in terms of polluted air, is unlikely to have any respite from the pollution menace as of now. The authorities here do not seem much concerned about it.

The state government has not come up with any concrete corrective measure even after two days of an advisory issued by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) stating that the pollution in Patna has reached alarming levels.

Though the advisory sought the removal of all diesel-operated vehicles more than 15 years old and a decision in this regard has already been taken in October 2013, the transport department officials are clueless about its implementation.

"No concrete directives have been issued as of now for phasing-out diesel vehicles. Besides, we are not much aware about the advisory issued by the pollution control board," said a senior official in the transport department.

Citing an alibi for unawareness about the pollution control board's advisory, the transport department official claimed that it has been sent only to the chief secretary and principal secretary of forests department.

A ray of hope for curbing air-pollution is, however, in sight with a slew of proposals being mooted by forests and environment department to impose "limited restriction" on vehicular movement in the city. Forests department principal secretary Vivek Kumar Singh told The Telegraph on Wednesday that several measures aimed at curbing air pollution in Patna would be proposed before the chief minister in the review meeting of the department scheduled on December 23.

"As of now, we cannot impose advanced and stringent restrictions on vehicular movement in Patna as being seen in Delhi. Thus, we are focusing on introducing limited restrictions on vehicular movement and other sources of pollutants based on strict implementation of existing laws. A few measures being contemplated in this regard include prohibiting vehicular movement in certain areas during the night and continuous pollution check on vehicles. We expect that the pollution level in the city might go down by around 25 per cent with such measures," said Singh.

Earlier, the pollution control board in its advisory issued on Monday stated that the air quality index (AQI) of Patna crossed the 400-mark in November-December, breaking all its past record in Patna. The AQI is an assessment of the air quality taking into account eight pollutants: PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 10 micron), PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 micron), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia and lead.

Based on the measured level of each pollutant, corresponding standards and likely health impact, a sub-index is calculated for each and the worst sub-index reflects overall AQI. In case of Patna, the level of PM 2.5 and PM 10 was found to be highest (over 400 microgram/cubic meter) during November-December, which was recorded as the final AQI.

Sources said the advisory was issued by the pollution control board based on directives given to different departments of the state government and other agencies in a meeting over air pollution in Patna held under the chairmanship of chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh on September 23.

"It is commonly observed that the level of air pollution rises during this time of the year owing to the high level of smoke emitted during Diwali and Chhath, and also because of the change in weather. Being a regulatory body, we communicated about the corresponding rise in the level of air pollution this time and measures suggested for controlling it," said Subhash Chandra Singh, the BSPCB chairman.

Patna has done little over the years to lower air pollution. In May last year, a WHO survey declared Patna as the second most polluted city after Delhi but rather than improving, the situation has in fact deteriorated. The average level of PM10 in the air these days has been around 350 µg/m3, three-and-a-half times the corresponding daily permissible limit of 100 µg/m3.