Delhi CM seeks meet with Rajnath to discuss restrictions

All vehicles to ply on Sundays

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday sought a meeting with Union home minister Rajnath Singh to discuss AAP government’s newly-announced curbs on private vehicles in the city from January 1.

Mr Kejriwal tweeted he had sought the meeting to “discuss implementation of the odd-even formula.”

The AAP government has imposed curbs on private vehicles in the city from January 1. Cars with odd registration numbers will be allowed to ply only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and those with even numbers on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

All private vehicles will be allowed to ply on Sundays, the AAP government announced on Monday. “We will allow odd and even numbered vehicles on Sunday as there is no heavy traffic on the capital’s roads on that day. We have enough time to make a strategy on the implementation of odd and even formula,” city home minister Satyendar Jain, who is also health and PWD minister, said.

The odd-even formula will not apply to CNG-driven public transport, including buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws, and emergency services like PCR vans, ambulances and fire trucks. The national capital has nearly 90 lakh registered vehicles and cars account for nearly a third of the number.

The AAP government’s path-breaking decision will need the backing of the Central government as Delhi is the national capital. Aam Aadmi Party sources said Mr Kejriwal’s request for a meeting with Mr Singh should be seen in this context.

City transport minister Gopal Rai said on Monday that the AAP government will come out with a “foolproof plan” for the switch before December 25. “We are working on all aspects of the decision and the suggestions made. The scheme is to be implemented from January 1. We will come out with a foolproof plan before December 25,” Mr Rai said at an event here.

The city government is also planning to strengthen the public transport system by introducing more buses and increasing the frequency of Metro trains to accommodate the rush of commuters. Mr Rai said the DMRC and Delhi traffic police will be approached in this regard and a strategy be worked out.

Mr Jain said the AAP government has started a series of meetings to roll out the strategy on the issue. He added that the DMRC will be asked to increase its working hours to accommodate a huge crowd of passengers.

Mr Jain said that Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses have been asked to increase the vehicle frequency by 20 per cent. “Besides, Metro will also be asked to increase their working hours so that people don’t have to face problems while using public transport. If we increase public transport by 20 per cent, there will be no problem for people,” Mr Jain added.

Mr Kejriwal had said earlier that the curbs would be discontinued after 10 to 15 days if people faced problems.