Odd-even scheme may come back if air quality drops further

Under the scheme, vehicles with the registration number ending with an even number are allowed on roads on an even date while those ending in odd number are allowed on odd dates. The scheme was enforced in Delhi twice in 2016.

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Smog covers the city, a day after Diwali festival in New Delhi on Friday. (Source: PTI Photo)

The Delhi government is preparing to enforce the odd-even road rationing scheme in the city again if air quality deteriorates further. In a letter to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot asked officials to be “fully geared up” to implement the odd-even scheme and chalk out a plan to procure buses and conductors in a week.

Under the scheme, vehicles with the registration number ending with an even number are allowed on roads on an even date while those ending in odd number are allowed on odd dates. The scheme was enforced in Delhi twice in 2016.

“With the increase in pollution levels in Delhi, the government may have to resort to emergency measures, including the odd-even scheme. It is, therefore, essential that the Transport Department/DTC/ DIMTS are fully geared up for implementation of the scheme as and when the same is announced. In this regard, procurement of additional buses by DTC shall be the main component,” Gahlot said in the letter.

According to the graded response action plan prepared by the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority, the scheme is to be implemented when air pollution levels are in the “emergency” category for 48 hours or more.

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