The odd-even rule may return soon to reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi. The situation remains very serious in the national capital with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching new highs. The state government has not ruled out resuming the rationing scheme of vehicles (odd-even) if the pollution level does not come down. It said that all options, including the odd-even rule, are under consideration. Because the government does not want to leave any stone unturned to tackle pollution.
All vehicles, including private vehicles, will be banned from plying during the implementation phase of the odd-even rule. Delhi-NCR currently bans most commercial vehicles and private vehicles with BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel certificates. The Delhi Traffic Police has been keeping a strict vigil to stop all vehicles banned under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4 since Monday.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has said that the government will take a final decision on reintroducing the odd-even rule based on the advice and needs of experts. "On our part, the Delhi government is taking all necessary steps at its level. We are closely monitoring everything and making decisions daily. We will consult experts and take all necessary steps," the minister said.
What is the odd-even rule? How does it work?
The odd-even vehicle rationing system was first introduced by the Delhi government in 2016. The vehicle rationing scheme allows private vehicles to ply on alternate days based on the registration number. Vehicles with registration numbers ending in odd numbers are allowed to ply on odd dates and vehicles with even numbers are allowed to ply on other alternate days. For example, vehicles with registration numbers ending in even numbers like 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 are allowed to ply on the roads on even dates. While vehicles with registration numbers ending in even numbers such as 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are allowed to ply on odd dates. However, critics say it has little or no impact on pollution levels.
And it just serves to reduce congestion on the roads.
Which vehicles are allowed in odd-even and which are not
Under the odd-even scheme, electric vehicles or vehicles with CNG powertrains are exempted and are allowed to ply on all days. However, vehicles running on petrol or diesel will be covered under the scheme. In earlier cases, the odd-even scheme also included two-wheelers, vehicles for women passengers, vehicles for children up to 12 years of age, taxis, physically challenged people, VIPs, and emergency and defense vehicles. However, in 2019, when the scheme was last implemented, CNG vehicles were excluded from the exempted list.
If the Delhi government implements the odd-even rule, it will be the fourth time this scheme will be implemented to control vehicular pollution in the national capital. The odd-even rule was first implemented in 2016. It was implemented in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
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