Green tribunal says oddeven a farce, no rollout without its nod AFTER US, OTHER DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS SOUND ALARM AS WELL
DELHI POLLUTION NGT asks Kejriwal govt why no measures were taken earlier NEW DELHI:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday termed the Delhi government’s odd-even road rationing plan a “farce” and said the scheme cannot be implemented from next week without its permission.
The tribunal is likely to decide on the matter in its next hearing at 11am on Saturday.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led government announced on Thursday that the scheme, which allows private cars with odd and even registration numbers to ply only on alternate days, would be rolled out from November 13 to 17 in view of the rising pollution. But experts questioned the timing of the move, given that the air quality may improve by then, and pointed out that two earlier editions in 2016 had failed to alleviate pollution levels.
“Odd-even won’t be implemented without a green signal from us. We are not stopping it yet. Hearing on Saturday,” the tribunal directed. “It is a farce. The publicity you gave to oddeven 2, did you give to destination buses too?” it asked the Delhi government, referring to the nonstop buses launched earlier in a bid to encourage car owners to travel by public transport.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson justice Swatanter Kumar asked the Delhi government to provide details of the ambient air quality during the earlier implementation of the scheme. It also directed the government’s counsel to be ready with all the requisite data and reasons for implementing another edition.
“Give us figures on how much cars contribute to the total air pollution of the city... also give us figures on how much one diesel-run heavy vehicle pollutes when compared to petrol cars. What is the contribution of small petrol cars in Delhi’s pollution,” the court asked the government.
With the US on top of the heap, many diplomatic missions here have put in place measures to protect their staffers as the air quality in the national capital deteriorated to ‘severe’ levels.
The pollution levels breaching permissible standards made them express their concerns at the situation. “We are very concerned by the continuing poor air quality in New Delhi and its impact on the health of our community and the larger public,” Joseph Kruzich, US embassy spokesperson, told HT, as the US diplomatic mission implemented measures. These include sealing building envelopes, installing supplementary air filtration, and constructing vestibules to provide clean air in workspaces at the embassy in Chanakyapuri.
The mission has also launched outreach efforts. “We are taking active steps to mitigate the health impact on our community, inform the American community and larger public on air quality levels and contribute to a constructive dialogue on the health impact of poor air quality, and share international experiences on how best to reduce air pollution levels,” he said.
Many missions are either planning to or have put in place measures. For the past three years, the British High Commission has made provisions for extra air purifiers. “We are following the matter with the aim to preserve the health of our staff. We are taking necessary precautions like any other institutions in Delhi,” said Avigail Spira, spokesperson for the Israeli embassy.
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