After the National Green Tribunal ordered the withdrawal of exemptions under it, the Delhi government has called off the odd-even scheme, which was scheduled to be implemented from Monday, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.
The government’s decision came in view of the directive by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which ordered the withdrawal of all exemptions, including to two-wheeler riders and woman-only vehicles, under the odd-even scheme, Gahlot was quoted as saying by PTI.
The government is not ready “to compromise with the safety of women” after the NGT ordered that there should be no exemption to anyone expect emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire tenders, he reportedly said.
“We respect the NGT decision. Two conditions of NGT that two wheelers and women cannot be exempted make it difficult to implement odd-even as we do not have adequate buses,” Gahlot said.
“Also we cannot compromise with the safety of women. We cannot take risks. PM2.5 and PM10 levels have also come down. So at the moment we are calling it off. We will file a review application in NGT on Monday,” the minister reportedly said.
The decision to call-off the scheme was taken at a meeting chaired by Arvind Kejriwal and attended by ministers, including Gahlot, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain, media reports said.
Senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, were also present in the meeting at Kejriwal’s residence.
Earlier this week, the Delhi government had announced implementation of the odd-even scheme from November 13-17, given the high level of smog in the capital. Schools were also shutdown till Sunday.
A landmark IIT-Kanpur study, which covered the period 2013-14, has said that during winters, vehicles are the second largest and the “most consistent” contributing source of pollutants PM10 and PM2.5, reported PTI.
In terms of percentage, it comes to around 20-25 per cent during winters, the report says. The contribution of road dust is negligible during the colder months unlike summers when it plays a bigger role.
However, the share of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, trucks and light commercial vehicles in the total vehicular contribution shows that trucks and two- wheelers are the major polluters.
According to the study, which was commissioned by the Sheila Dikshit government, the share of four-wheelers in the break up of vehicular contribution is 10 per cent each in cases of both PM2.5 and PM10.
On the other hand, the share of trucks and two-wheelers stands at around 46 per cent and 33 per cent respectively, the report said.