Delhi government calls off Odd-Even scheme, unhappy with 'No Exceptions'
Unhappy with the National Green Tribunal's 'no exceptions' direction, the Delhi government has called off the implementation of Odd-Even scheme from Monday. “Odd-even scheme from Nov 13-17 in the national capital called off,” Gahlot said in a statement hours after the tribunal’s verdict. The tribunal had allowed the state government to follow its plans, even saying that the policy would automatically come into force if the PM2.5 level goes above 300 and PM10 crosses the 500 mark. "In light of the two conditions by NGT on two-wheelers and women, at the moment we are calling it off. We will go back to NGT on Monday, file a review petition for them to reconsider their decision regarding the two," Kailash Gehlot, Delhi's Transport Minister said. In the meeting the NGT observed that "it is most worrying that there is absolute non-cooperation between various departments of government." It also asked Delhi Government the rationale behind applying the odd-even scheme and why it wasn't applied when the air quality situation was worse. The Air Quality Index showed Mandir Marg at 326, Anand Vihar at 430, Siri Fort at 316, Dwarka at 327, Shadipur at 331 - the air quality in these areas remains in the 'Hazardous' category. The Delhi government had on Thursday announced the introduction of the Odd-Even scheme from November 13 to 17 to get hold of the alarming pollution situation in the state. -PTC News
