Patna: The Patna High Court has asked the Bihar government and the State Pollution Control Board to submit a detailed explanation of the causes of air pollution in the state, including a breakdown of how much is contributed by vehicles, dust, construction activity and other sources.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Alok Kumar Pandey initiated the proceedings suo motu after taking note of media reports on deteriorating air quality. The court observed that pollution from vehicles alone could not be so severe as to deny citizens the right to breathe clean air and sought clarity on the relative contribution of different factors.
Advocate Shambhu Sharan Singh, appointed amicus curiae by the court, told the bench that while authorities often speak about measures to control pollution, there is little transparency about its actual causes. “Everyone is giving information about controlling pollution,” he said, adding that banning vehicles older than 15 years would not, by itself, reduce pollution. “If that were the solution, such vehicles would have been banned long ago. Instead, pollution has continued to rise,” he argued.
Representing the Bihar State Pollution Control Board, senior advocate Shivendra Kishore informed the court that the government had been advised to promote cleaner fuels, including CNG and PNG, as well as electric vehicles, to curb emissions. Government counsel Vikas Kumar said water was being sprinkled daily to suppress dust and that the operation of old vehicles had been completely banned.
He also told the court that orders had been issued to convert diesel vehicles to CNG and that almost all commercial vehicles were now running on cleaner fuel.
The bench, however, pressed for specifics, asking whether the Pollution Control Board had ever conducted a scientific survey to identify and quantify the sources of pollution. It directed both the board and the state government to place comprehensive data before the court.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 12, 2026.
