The odd-even rule, which was set to be implemented from November 13, has been postponed for the time being, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday. This was because of the sudden improvement in the national capital’s air quality after the unseasonal rain.
The decision to impose this rule for cars was taken at the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday. The scheme was set to be brought in due to the rising level of air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
The odd-even rule of Delhi government is a traffic curb under which private vehicles with registration numbers ending with an odd digit will be allowed on roads on odd dates and those with an even digit on even dates.
The Delhi government on Wednesday said the odd-even car rationing scheme will be implemented in the national capital after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order.
Addressing a press conference, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the city government would submit the results of two major studies conducted by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago and the Delhi Technical University to determine the scheme’s effectiveness for the Supreme Court’s review.
“The decision to implement the odd-even scheme will be made only after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order,” the minister said, adding that the matter would be next heard on Friday.
This came in the backdrop of the SC questioning the effectiveness of the odd-even scheme and said that it is “all optics”.
The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Evidence for Policy Design had analysed the impact of the odd-even system in 2016 and found that Delhi saw a 14-16 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels during the hours it remained in force in January that year.
However, there was no reduction in pollution when the scheme was brought back in April that year. The entry of app-based taxis into Delhi has also been banned as per the Supreme Court’s order, the minister said.
What is the Odd-Even scheme?
The odd-even rule, which is applied only for private vehicles, allows cars with only odd or only even number plates to ply on a particular day. In simple terms, if your car carries an ‘odd-number’ registration plate, you will only be allowed to drive it on an odd day and vice versa for even days. Those who fail to comply with the odd-even rule or violate the terms are charged a fine by the traffic authorities.
The scheme was first introduced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in December 2016 as part of his government response to NCR’s breaching pollution levels, but it is not new to control vehicular pollution.
(With PTI inputs)
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