From January 1, odd & even-numbered cars will ply in Delhi on alternate days

New Delhi: In a radical measure to curb the rising air pollution in the nation’s capital that has reached a critical level, the Delhi government on Friday announced that from January 1, 2016 it would allow private vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers to ply only on alternate days, which has drawn widespread criticism but also support in some quarters. This order would not, however, apply to public transport vehicles.

There is no clarity yet on whether it would apply only to vehicles with Delhi number plates or those of neighbouring states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as well. It was also not clear if it only applies to cars or to two-wheelers as well. An AAP leader claimed it would be done on a trial run basis for 15 days from January 1.

The Delhi government also plans to allow the movement of trucks within Delhi only after 11 pm at night, instead of 9 pm at present, to ensure smoother traffic movement as trucks slow down overall vehicular movement, which is a major contributing factor to vehicular emission pollution.

The Arvind Kejriwal government, devoid of any concrete plan to check the rising pollution and facing a scathing attack from the Delhi high court, which said Thursday life in Delhi was like “living in a gas chamber”, announced this step without giving any clear-cut idea of what alternative transport arrangements would be in place, leading to a barrage of criticism from citizens whose everyday life would get affected as well as from political parties and other organisations, who described it as “absurd” and “anti-people”. Most environmentalists, however, supported the move, saying drastic steps were necessary.

The BJP adopted a cautious approach, saying it supported measures to curb pollution but wondered if the step was practical.

“We welcome any step to curb pollution but it should be practical,” Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmad said the Kejriwal government’s decision was aimed at “cheap publicity” and it would “harass the common man”.

As the AAP spokesman found it tough to justify the move, confusion increased with Delhi police commissioner B.S. Bassi categorically declaring that the police, whose job it is to regulate the movement of vehicles on the streets, had not even been consulted. “The Delhi police has not been consulted on the concerned proposal. If the proposal ever comes to us, it shall be examined by the traffic department and further action will be taken only in public interest,” the police chief said.

Faced with intense criticism, AAP leader Ashutosh tried to do some firefighting late on Friday night, saying it will be done “on a trial run basis for 15 days from January 1” to see “if it works well or not”.

Minister of state for environment Prakash Javdekar said that steps had been taken to improve air pollution levels in the nation’s capital and support was sought from various agencies and governments, besides the public, in winning the war against pollution. “As far as Delhi’s air pollution is concerned, we recognise that the situation is serious. But we all know air pollution is a global problem in many cities the world over, and in Delhi the air quality is going from bad to worse for the last 10 years,” Mr Javadekar told PTI.

While the Delhi government is under fire over the move, it may be recalled that the odd and even-numbered scheme, similar to the ones in place in Beijing and Singapore, will allow vehicles with number plates ending with an odd number to be driven one day while those ending with an even number can run the next day, meaning a motorist will be able ply his vehicle only for 15 days in a month. At an emergency meeting chaired by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the city government also decided on a series of steps to curb pollution, which included shutting down of thermal power plants and making it mandatory for all vehicles to have Euro-VI emission norms from 2017 instead of 2019. The thermal plants that the government intends to shut down include those at Dadri, Badarpur and Rajghat.

However, hours after the Delhi government announced the advancing of the cutoff date for implementation of Euro-VI emission norms, MoS environment Prakash Javadekar questioned it, indicating its enforcement was not possible. “The elhi government does not have its own fuel. If they have some factory or some good idea to convert it by magic to Euro-VI, all the best,” the Union minister said.

The Centre had decided to introduce Euro V and VI emission standards in vehicles in a phased manner. At present BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in over 30 cities, including Delhi. The rest of the country has BS-III grade fuel.

Without offering concrete details on how it planned to bolster public transport for citizens who will no longer be able to use their personal transport on certain days, the city government went on a rhetorical spree. “Every year pollution levels increase in winter. For some time, odd and even numbered vehicles will run on alternate days. Alternate arrangements are being made to bolster public transport. DTC buses, Metro services will ply extra. We are still working out the modalities,” principal secretary K.K. Sharma said. While the government is supposed to fight pollution, it has also decided to shut down some parking lots. “We have also decided to shut MCD parking lots on roads that are responsible for slowing down traffic movement,” he said.

The Delhi government also intends to vacuum the “dust-generating roads and stretches”. This desperate measure comes a day after the Delhi high court observed that the current air pollution levels in the city reached “alarming” proportions, directing the Centre and the Delhi government to present comprehensive action plans to combat it.

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