PPCB chairman contradicts WHO report

Ludhiana, May 14, 2016: In contrary to a WHO report that Punjab was top contributor to outdoor air pollution burden in the world with four towns namely Ludhiana, Khanna, Amritsar and Mandi Gobindgarh, ending in the list of 25 most polluted cities across the world, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman Manpreet Singh Chhatwal has said that the report could not be “believed” as it was based on air pollution only.

Interacting with the media persons here today, he added that criterions used to measure pollution level were not being implemented in Punjab so far and if all aspects were taken as basis for measuring pollution level then four cities, including Ludhiana, would be far better as compared to the world’s many polluted cities.

Chhatwal was here today to participate in celebrations of National Technology Day at PAU. He clarified that PPCB had reviewed all aspects adopted for measuring pollution level in WHO report after which it had come to the light that the report was based only on the basis of air pollution. Moreover, certain criterions adopted for measuring air pollution were still not being implemented in Punjab. As such, it “could not be believed” that four cities of Punjab come in the list of 25 top polluted cities across the world.

He told that PPCB had taken the matter very seriously and a high level team of PPCB would be going to Delhi for discussing the matter with WHO. Besides, they had already taken up the matter in written with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)