The Delhi government did a flip-flop on Saturday and called off the Odd-Even scheme for vehicles after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) refused to allow a number of exemptions in the proposed five-day exercise. The scheme was to come into effect from Monday.
In what could be seen as a more odd than even twist, the government will now petition before the NGT against its own order on Monday. The green panel had given a conditional nod to the Odd-Even proposal, after ruling out any exemptions to women drivers and those riding two-wheelers.
The fast-paced back-to-back developments were triggered by an NGT order earlier in the day, which stated that no exemption should be allowed to "any person or officer and two-wheelers" during the proposed car rationing scheme.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said on Saturday that the Odd-Even scheme should be implemented "without any default" as and when the particulate matter (PM ) 10 level goes above 500 microgrammes per cubic metre and PM 2.5 level crosses the limit of 300 microgrammes per cubic metre during a span of 48 hours. At the same time, the green panel ordered that no exemption should be allowed to "any person or officer and two-wheelers".
The panel allowed the exemption only for emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire tenders.
"Is the Odd-Even scheme at the whim and thought of a particular officer or the Delhi government as a whole? Is it being implemented with the consent of both the Lieutenant-Governor and the Delhi government?" the NGT asked.
As Delhi air became unbreathable, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had announced on November 9 that the scheme will be back for a week. Also, schools were shut down till Sunday due to the high level of smog in the Capital.
Earlier, appearing before the NGT bench, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had said that two-wheelers were more polluting than other vehicles, and emissions from motorbikes accounted for 20 per cent of the total vehicular pollution.
The bench also castigated the government over its decision to hike parking fees saying: "Measures such as enhanced parking fees to decrease pollution are absurd. The hike will benefit only the contractors and would stress people by encouraging them to park vehicles on roads instead."Ruing the NGT order, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the government was not ready "to compromise with the safety of women". "We respect the NGT decision. Two conditions of NGT, that two-wheelers and women cannot be exempted, make it difficult to implement the Odd-Even scheme as we do not have enough buses," he said."We cannot compromise with the safety of women. The PM2.5 and PM10 levels have also come down. So, at the moment, we are calling the scheme off. We will file a review application in NGT on Monday," the minister said, after participating in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, with other senior officials, at the CM's residence.
Had the scheme been implemented this Monday, it would have been the third edition of car rationing in Delhi. The scheme was earlier implemented for a fortnight from January 1-15, 2016, and then for the second time, from April 15-30, 2016.
Under the scheme, odd-numbered vehicles ply on odd dates and even numbered on even dates. Restrictions were supposed to be in place from 8 am to 8 pm.
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