Odd-even 2.0 loses fizz halfway through

A little over a week since it started, the second phase of Delhi's odd even formula for private cars has lost steam already. There has been little impact on the toxic air pollution levels of the city and no significant change is visible as yet in Delhi's usual traffic scenario. The latter, clubbed with high compliance levels to the rule, is something that the Aam Aadmi Party government had considered a measure of the scheme's success in both its phases.

City residents, who supported the scheme in its first round, are disappointed. An unfavourable weather in Delhi, little presence of civil defence volunteers on the roads, violators going unnoticed, have largely rendered the scheme ineffective this time. Other measures promised by the government last year to curb pollution –such as such as vacuum cleaning of roads, planting grass along roads, shutting of

Badarpur and Dadri power plants and adequate action on garbage and debris burning –are yet to kick off. Problems like fire at Delhi's municipal dumping grounds have only added to the existing problems on ground.

South Delhi's Malviya Nagar resident Mukesh Singh, who travels to Noida everyday for work, says he has failed to find any reduction in traffic snarls in the city.

"For the first three days, the traffic was smooth, but fourth day onwards, the congestions were as usual. I saw several violators on my way to office, but didn't see anyone being stopped," said Singh. Singh's CNG car is exempt from the scheme.

Unlike January, where many volunteered to use the metro and bus services for their daily commute, a scorching April heat in the capital has prompted many to avail cab services this time, a factor that has led to more cars on the city streets.

Debesh Pal, a Ghaziabad resident, who travels to North Delhi every day, said he is using app-based cab services this time. "Last time, I used to take an auto till Vaishali metro station, from where I took the metro to my destination. This time, I have decided to take cabs because of the weather. Not only am I paying at least Rs700 for my one-way commute, but my cab frequently gets stuck in traffic jams. Breaking the rule is easier in such a case," says Pal, who owns an odd-numbered car.

Commuters say there has been a significant lack of civil defence volunteers on the roads this time has encouraged violators.

"While I was commuting to sector 15 of Noida from sector 62 on Saturday, using my GPS, I realised that the route was taking me through east Delhi's Mayur Vihar. I was in an even-numbered car and breaking the rule was unintentional. But nobody stopped me. There were no traffic cops or civil defence volunteers even at the Delhi-Noida border on Saturday afternoon," said Deepesh Mishra, a Noida resident.

Not only commuters, the Delhi government also seems to have realised that the part two of the scheme is not working, even though chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had pegged it as 'success' within its first few days.

Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai has alleged conspiracy in the recent fire at the Bhalswa and the Ghazipur landfill sites and in the forested portion of Yamuna floodplains behind Raj Ghat Power station, which added to the air pollution due to burning of garbage. Rai claimed that the acts were deliberate attempts to sabotage the second phase of the odd even scheme.

While the police have registered a case against unknown persons on the Bhalswa landfill site fire, the Delhi Government has also formed a four-member committee to enquire into the reasons behind the fire incidents at the two landfill sites and the forested portion of Yamuna floodplains behind Rajghat power station.

Rai had said that the committee has been set up to study if school-related traffic and the heat, because of which more people are opting for cabs, have increased the traffic volume on roads. He admitted that during the last odd-even phase, all schools were closed, people walked short distances or take buses or autos.

"More people are taking AC cabs this time, which is increasing volume of car-congestion on the roads. During the last odd-even phase, roads were without congestion-free and there was smooth traffic, unlike this time," he had said in a recent press conference. He had given out a number for people to report traffic congestion.

The government has also promised an additional 3,000 buses in Delhi by this year end to bolster the existing public transport. Environmentalists, too, admitted the odd even scheme has not been very effective this time, both in terms of the primary goal of controlling pollution or even reducing congestion.

Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment said that odd even being an emergency action, its impact will depend on its stringency. "In cities like Beijing, implementation of the odd even scheme is more stringent. There are fewer exemptions. Here, the list of exemptions is long, including two-wheelers and government vehicles," she said.

Roy Chowdhury added that the other reason why the scheme has not been very effective is that it is being used in isolation for pollution control. "Short and medium term measures like imposing congestion charges, delimiting legal parking area, imposing higher taxes on cars and restraining too much of car usage would help," she said, adding that the odd even move has somehow managed to involve car owners in the process of controlling pollution.

The number of fines, however, continued to remain low. A total of 580 motorists and over 400 auto-rickshaw drivers were penalised for violating the rule on Saturday.