Odd-Even scheme half-baked, says SC
The Supreme Court Friday said the Odd-Even traffic regulation may not be a permanent solution, especially when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) says cars contribute only 3 per cent to the pollution levels.
Garbage dumping, construction waste and road dust are major contributors to pollution levels. The top court asked Delhi government to clear whether there has been any relief from air pollution from the Odd-Even scheme.
As Delhi-NCR continued to battle air pollution, AQI hovered around 482 in the capital on Friday. The CPCB told the SC that cars are contributing 3 per cent to pollution levels and all the vehicles combined contributing 28 per cent. Senior advocate for Delhi govt Mukul Rohatgi told the court that it may help if certain exemptions (like two-wheelers) under the scheme are removed. But if two-wheelers are not allowed, the city will come to a standstill.
The Delhi goverment mentioned that pollution levels get reduced by 5-15 per cent due to the Odd-Even regulation and that the results will be better if no exemption is given under the scheme.
The top court asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to randomly check threewheelers running on polluting fuels and file a report.
The Delhi Development Authority, Public Works Department and other civic agencies were asked to cooperate with the monitoring committee to ensure implementation of court orders.
The court again sought the presence of chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on November 29, after it observed that these states failed to take effective steps to deal with air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.