Patna: Air quality in Patna has shown consistent improvement over the past four years, with 2025 marking the cleanest winter air recorded so far, district officials said on Monday.
The district magistrate, Dr Thyagarajan S.M., said the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) during December and January has remained around 200 or below this year, compared with an average of 273 during the same period last winter. He was speaking after a review meeting of the district-level implementation committee (DLIC) set up to prevent and control air pollution.
“The trend clearly shows improvement, but there is still scope to do better,” the district magistrate said, adding that an action plan had been prepared to further improve air quality in 2026 by targeting dust and smoke emissions.
According to officials, the plan includes large-scale tree plantation to curb dust particles, stricter checks on polluting vehicles to reduce smoke, and awareness campaigns among farmers to prevent stubble burning. The meeting reviewed the performance of multiple departments, including municipal bodies, transport and traffic police, the road construction department, the pollution control board, mining authorities and the agriculture department.
The district magistrate directed all departments to work in a “mission mode” with strong inter-departmental coordination and to strictly follow statutory provisions under the action plan. He also asked departments to prepare detailed plans for 2026–27 and ensure their effective implementation.
As part of green development efforts, officials were instructed to identify potential plantation sites and submit lists to the district forest officer. Areas such as Gandhi Maidan, spaces beneath flyovers and bridges, the collectorate and other government office complexes, as well as land cleared of encroachments, were flagged as having significant potential for tree cover expansion.
The district magistrate also asked the district forest officer (park division) to take necessary steps to develop green areas in line with the plantation plan, saying sustained greenery would play a key role in further improving Patna’s air quality in the coming years.
