‘Odd-Even Scheme’s Fate Depends on SC Reviews’ : Delhi Govt

The Delhi government on Wednesday that the implementation of the odd-even car rationing scheme in the national capital will depend on a review of its effectiveness by the Supreme Court and the issuance of an order.

During a press conference, Environment Minister Gopal Rai stated that the city government would present the findings of two significant studies conducted by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago and the Delhi Technical University to assess the scheme’s effectiveness for the Supreme Court’s review.

Minister Rai emphasized that the decision to put the odd-even scheme into action would be contingent on the Supreme Court’s evaluation and the issuance of an order. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on Friday.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court questioned the efficacy of the Delhi government’s scheme, which aims to reduce vehicular pollution, and referred to it as mere “optics.” Rai had previously announced the flagship scheme, allowing cars to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates, to be enforced from November 13 to November 20.

In 2016, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and Evidence for Policy Design had assessed the impact of the odd-even system and determined that Delhi experienced a 14-16% reduction in PM2.5 levels during the hours when the scheme was in effect in January of that year. However, there was no reduction in pollution when the scheme was reintroduced in April.

The entry of app-based taxis into Delhi has also been prohibited in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directive, the minister confirmed.

Rai further mentioned that the Delhi government has instructed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to resume full operation of the Connaught Place smog tower and release the remaining funds to IIT Kanpur to restart a study aimed at identifying various sources of pollution in the capital.

Additionally, Rai announced that a special campaign would be conducted to monitor open burning of waste in Delhi, with 611 teams established for this purpose.