Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
India

Delhi High Court Suggests Limiting Odd-even Plan To A Week

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Jan, 2016 12:14 PM
    The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the city government whether it can limit the 15-day odd-even number car regulation scheme to a week, saying it has caused inconvenience to people.
     
    The government said it was earlier decided that the scheme, which has received overwhelming response since its beginning on January 1, will be tried for 15 days to evaluate its impact.
     
    It said vehicular pollution has indeed come down due to success of the scheme, the facts of which the government would put before the court on January 8.
     
    "Is it really necessary to have it for two weeks (15 days)? Can't it be confined to eight days? Can you end it on Friday? People are facing inconvenience. Take instructions," said a division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath to the government.
     
    The bench asked the government to submit the data on air pollution it has collected in a week during implementation of the odd-even scheme.
     
    "It was a pilot project. You must have data (on air pollution) with you now. Show us how much the pollution has reduced. The people of Delhi supported you despite inconvenience. There is no adequate public transport," it added.
     
    In December, after the high court called Delhi a "gas chamber", the Aam Aadmi Party government decided to implement the scheme which allows odd- and even-numbered cars to ply on alternate dates. 
     
    Talking to reporters later, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said there was 30-35 percent reduction in the vehicular emissions in the first five days of the scheme.
     
    He said the government decided to run the scheme for 15 days because it wanted "to have sufficient data and experience".
     
     
    Green activists expressed dismay over the questioning by the court.
     
    "The government must not be stopped from doing this," Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at Centre for Science and Environment, told IANS.
     
    "In a time when your (pollution) levels are hitting levels like 300-400, the solution cannot work like a magic bullet that it comes down to 60," she added.
     
    "But what these measures are going to help you to do is bring down the steep levels and lower levels of the toxicity of the pollution," she said.
     
    "What inconvenience? These are the best days in so many years in Delhi. We are saving time, saving fuel. We are not stuck in traffic jams," she added.
     
    The court, while hearing 12 PILs challenging the Delhi government's decision on the odd-even scheme, also asked why diesel cabs were still plying on roads despite a ban.
     
    Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi government, defended the decision of continuing with the odd-even scheme for 15 days, saying the data collected till now shows decrease in pollution levels.
     
    Meanwhile, in a status report submitted to the court, the government defended its decision to exempt two-wheelers from the scheme.
     
    "In case of two-wheelers, pooling would have been a limited option and it was expected that around 60-70 percent of population would have to resort to public transport. The present available public transport infrastructure is not sufficient to cater to such a huge demand," it said.
     
     
    The status report said the reduction in the number of four-wheelers helps decrease the congestion on roads "which has a positive effect on vehicular pollution control".

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Swiss Account Row: Amarinder Singh Rebuts Charge, Akalis Ask Him To Quit

    Swiss Account Row: Amarinder Singh Rebuts Charge, Akalis Ask Him To Quit
    Swiss bank authorities have asked Amarinder's wife and former union minister Preneet Kaur and son, Raninder Singh, to exercise their "right to be heard" before sharing information on bank accounts in Switzerland 

    Swiss Account Row: Amarinder Singh Rebuts Charge, Akalis Ask Him To Quit

    AAP MP Bhagwant Mann Challenges Sukhbir Badal, Other Leaders For Dope Test

    AAP MP Bhagwant Mann Challenges Sukhbir Badal, Other Leaders For Dope Test
    "Just by getting effigies (of your opponents) burnt by your sycophants will not solve anything. Know the ground reality, Mr Badal," Mann said.

    AAP MP Bhagwant Mann Challenges Sukhbir Badal, Other Leaders For Dope Test

    Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti: Religious Fervour Marks Gurpurab In Punjab, Haryana

    Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti: Religious Fervour Marks Gurpurab In Punjab, Haryana
    Thousands of devout thronged the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar from early morning to offer prayers.

    Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti: Religious Fervour Marks Gurpurab In Punjab, Haryana

    AAP asks BJP to expel MLA, Alka Lamba seeks his disqualification

    The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday stepped up its attack on BJP legislator O.P. Sharma for his "derogatory remark" about AAP lawmaker Alka Lamba, who sought his disqualification as member of the Delhi assembly.

    AAP asks BJP to expel MLA, Alka Lamba seeks his disqualification

    Punjab To Dedicate War Memorial To Country On August 15: Parkash Singh Badal

    Punjab To Dedicate War Memorial To Country On August 15: Parkash Singh Badal
    The Punjab government will dedicate the Punjab state war memorial-cum-museum at Amritsar to the nation on August 15 next year, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Tuesday.

    Punjab To Dedicate War Memorial To Country On August 15: Parkash Singh Badal

    Punjab Claims Solar Power Generation Up 172 Times In Three Years

    Punjab Claims Solar Power Generation Up 172 Times In Three Years
    Punjab claims to have set a national benchmark with a 172-fold increase in solar power generation.

    Punjab Claims Solar Power Generation Up 172 Times In Three Years