Crippled by air pollution, Delhi govt puts curbs on private vehicles

In a radical step to curb air pollution, the city government yesterday announced that private vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers will be allowed to ply only on alternate days starting January 1.

Hinting at the possibility of the plan not being implemented, the Delhi Chief Minister said, “Many things have to be sorted out”.

From January 1, odd numbered private vehicles will ply on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Delhi and even numbered cars on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, it was announced on Sunday.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the government would discontinue the move after 10 to 15 days if people faced problems.

The 13th HT Leadership summit is expected to be the most successful till now.

The announcement was made by the government on Friday, a day after the Delhi High Court said living in Delhi was like “living in a gas chamber”.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called a review meeting on the issue with ministers and concerned officials on December 8, a government spokesperson said.

Yet the Delhi High Court said the action plans from the environment ministry to address the “alarming” levels of dust particles and emissions were inadequate.

Mr Kejriwal said reducing pollution was one of the medium term goals of his government. The Chief Minister said no truck will be allowed to enter Delhi before 11 pm in the night against existing 9 pm.

Sharma said public transport will be significantly augmented to take the load of increasing passengers due to the odd-even number restrictions. The government will implement Euro 6 standards – for vehicular emission in Delhi by Jan 1, 2017, he said.

According to Kohli, it will create problems for self- employed people, doctors and advocates who need private cars for fast movement at a short notice and also for women who prefer the privacy of their cars in odd hours. We are for you. “All I want is freedom to take my decisions”.

“The decision may be weird but unless we have a viable alternatives, I will support it. On second thoughts I agree”, wrote another Twitter user. The Delhi CM also slammed the Delhi Police, saying they don’t cooperate with the AAP Government.

Also if the government is planning to follow cities like Beijing, then its is evident that there has been an extensive pre-planning put into such implementations. “People in bureaucracy are good”. The metro doesn’t yet connect all parts of Delhi; for lakhs of lower-income families, who may now be using two-wheelers, this solution could disadvantage them significantly. “This app will also be used to track down trash burning and polluting vehicles from now on”, said Kejriwal.