Kolkata Municipal Corporation has an area of 185 km2 and the
Kolkata Metropolitan Area is spread over 1,750 km2 with 15
million people. Pollution levels in Kolkata are high and on the
rise. The city will have to take steps to reduce motorisation,
so that it can deal with congestion and air toxins. The city is
constrained by the road space – it has less than 10 per cent of
its land area under roads, against Delhi’s 21 per cent.
Therefore, even though the city has fewer cars than Delhi the
result is the same – growing congestion and pollution.