Delhi government on Wednesday agreed to implement its vehicle-rationing scheme, Odd-Even, without any exemptions as directed by the National Green Tribunal.
In its action plan submitted before the green body, the Arvind Kejriwal government agreed to change its earlier stand to roll out the odd-even formula in the national capital without exemptions.
Delhi government had cancelled its planned Odd-Even scheme scheduled to start from 13 November this year after the National Green Tribunal removed exemptions made for certain categories of commuters including women.
Kejriwal’s Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot had said that the decision to cancel the move was in view of the directive by the NGT, which had ordered the withdrawal of all exemptions, including to two-wheeler riders and woman-only vehicles, under the odd-even scheme. The AAP government had said that it did not wish to compromise the security of women.
“We respect the NGT decision. Two conditions of NGT that two wheelers and women cannot be exempted make it difficult to implement odd-even as we do not have adequate buses,” Gahlot was quoted by PTI.
The NGT had slammed the Delhi government accusing it of having made a mess of Delhi.
Kejriwal had likened the worsening pollution level in Delhi to a gas chamber while holding the neighbouring states such as Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh responsible. He had travelled to Chandigarh to meet his Haryana counterpart, Manohar Lal Khattar. His requests for a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh were turned down by the latter.
Delhi’s 2.5 PM pollution level in November had risen to 1,000, more than 500 times more than the prescribed limit set by the World Health Organisation. Experts say that ideally the 2.5 PM level must never exceed 50 for one to avoid breathing poisonous air.