Odd-even scheme: Why exempt ladies, two-wheelers, Delhi high court asks

With just two days to go for implementation of the Odd-Even formula in the national capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday administered pledge to school students for combating pollution. The Delhi authorities introduced the scheme after a court ordered authorities to deal with air pollution ranges which might be at greater than 10 occasions the World Health Organization’s protected limits.

“You ought to speak to and persuade your mother and father to get a Pollution Under Control certificates…”

The odd-even scheme, mooted by the city government, will be implemented on a trial basis between January 1 and 15. “This encouraged us to implement this odd-even formula for a trial period of 15 days”, Kejriwal said, adding: “We will start vacuum cleaning on streets around April, like it’s done in Europe…” He said that the plan is not for him or the government, it is for all of us. He told the students that whenever they see someone violating the rule, they should oppose them.

Traffic police and 10,000 volunteers will monitor cars at checkpoints across the city and violators will be fined 2,000 rupees ($30) – extremely steep for the average resident.

Officials already hired 3,000 private buses to provide shuttle service into the city, as more and more citizens will use the public transport as long as the ban is in effect. So, these will also remain off roads during the 15-day experiment.