Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai
Delhi govt defers odd-even scheme till Supreme Court's review
Minister Rai had earlier announced that the flagship scheme, which permits cars to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates, would come into effect between November 13 and November 20.
The Delhi government on Wednesday (November 8) said the odd-even car rationing scheme will be enforced in the capital only after the Supreme Court studies its positives and issues an order.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the government would submit the results of two major studies to the apex court to examine the effectiveness of the scheme.
The studies were conducted by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago and the Delhi Technical University.
"The decision to implement the odd-even scheme will be made only after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order," Rai said. The matter will be next heard on Friday.
On Tuesday, the apex court questioned the effectiveness of the Delhi government's scheme, aimed at curbing vehicular pollution, and referred to it as "all optics".
Rai had earlier announced that the flagship scheme, which permits cars to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates, would come into effect between November 13 – a day after Diwali – and November 20.
Previous studies
The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Evidence for Policy Design had analysed the impact of the 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.
But three months later, the studies saw no reduction in pollution when the scheme was brought back.
The entry of app-based taxis into Delhi has also been banned as per the Supreme Court order, the minister said.
The minister said the Delhi government has ordered the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to restart the Connaught Place smog tower at full capacity.
The committee was also told to release the remaining funds to IIT Kanpur to resume a study to identify different sources of pollution in the capital.
Rai said a special drive will take place to check open burning of waste in Delhi.
(With agency inputs)
