The “odd-even” curbs on private vehicles to improve air quality in the nation’s capital will continue at least till Monday when the Delhi high court decides its fate, as the AAP government claimed pollution levels had gone down in the week or so that it has been in force.
Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai said his government’s ambitious odd-even scheme will run its full trial period course till January 15, after which a final decision will be taken on formulating a policy to reduce pollution in the city. Another bench of the high court was told that app-based taxi services like Ola and Uber were charging a lot more than the rates mandated by the law, following which directions were issued to the government to file an affidavit on whether app-based taxi services were overcharging people.
Earlier on Friday, a two-judge bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said they will pass an order on the “odd-even” formula on Monday. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Delhi government, told the court the capital was piloting its first emergency action to reduce peak pollution levels, which was consistent with global best practices. He said: “Vehicles that are second highest emitters in the city are responsible for very high exposure and health impacts. The first few days of the programme have already demonstrated that peak pollution levels are lower than the normal smog peaks of the season, despite the adverse weather conditions.”
Mr Salve also submitted that the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) of the National Capital Region has recommended that “the Delhi government must be permitted to continue with the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme beyond 15 days, if adverse weather conditions continue”.
The division bench reserved orders after the Delhi government said the pollution level of particulate matter across the city showed a declining trend due to implementation of the scheme, which began on January 1.
During the hearing, Mr Salve, who was accompanied by Mr Gopal Rai, other AAP leaders and city government senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra, submitted that the scheme was for the benefit of the people. He told the court the first few days of the programme have already demonstrated that peak pollution levels were lower than normal smog peaks of the season despite the adverse weather conditions.
Mr Salve’s submission was opposed by the petitioners, who said the AAP government had carried out a pick-and-choose policy against car owners, whereas 46 per cent of pollution is caused by trucks. Delhi High Court Bar Association president Rajiv Khosla, one of the petitioners who has challenged the government’s December 28, 2015 notification on the formula, said the data submitted by the government was not correct.
The division bench, which was hearing 12 petitions challenging the odd-even formula, had on January 6 asked the AAP government to consider if it could be restricted to a week instead of a fortnight as it was causing inconvenience to people. It had also sought data on the changes in pollution level between January 1 to 7 and said though it does not interfere with policies, the government must think about it as people were complaining about the inconvenience caused due to insufficient public transport.
Outside the court, Mr Rai told reporters the scheme will continue for 15 days. “Till January 15, we will collect data and thereafter do a proper analysis and take a decision (on formulation of policy to reduce pollution).”
