Odd/even formula

The odd/even initiative for private cars in Delhi was very good. It created a consciousness in the general public about pollution and air quality and generated necessary feedback and data for future action and policy decisions. From the feedback received about the policy, it was established that pollution fell, traffic jams were re- duced and travelling time became shorter. This is extremely helpful in case of emergency vehicles like ambulance, fire engines, etc. I have taken the liberty suggest here a steps that may be considered in future. The Delhi government should put in place a cap on the number of private vehicles to be sold annually. A restriction on registration of new vehicles can be imposed by limiting the numbers of vehicle per family making it dependent on adequate parking space within their house compound. Old vehicles which do not confirm to present pollution norms should be scrapped for recycling. Metro is the best, most pollution-free alternative. As per feedback received, the number of bogies may be increased on routes found overcrowded during odd/even trial. Arrangement for public conveyance at Metro stations, where huge number of persons are boarding and leaving the train, may be improved by providing more buses, vans, auto rickshaw and taxi. At Barakhamba road, Nehru Place, Rajendra Place, etc, there are large number of employees coming by private cars and parking their vehicle for eight hours. Such employees may be persuaded to use public conveyance. This can be done by charging them parking charges per hour basis and not on monthly basis. It may be an immature step to implement odd/even scheme again without utilising feedback received from the first trial. BinaBansal

Delhi