Odd-even may be enforced for a fortnight every month in Delhi
The Delhi government is seriously considering implementing the odd-even plan for 15 days every month.CM Arvind Kejriwal said this at a press meet called on Saturday to announce the next phase of odd-even from April 15.
Flagging round 2 for a fortnight, he said it would not be possible to make the plan permanent till the public transport system was made robust, which may take over
a year.
While the CM argued that people would face a problem only for four-five days each month if the government went ahead, such a decision could impact public opinion adversely. Without public transport being augmented and other measures to bring down pollution -which was the original objective -it may end up inconveniencing commuters. They will have to move around their schedules and the scheme could boomerang. For now, the second phase of the plan will take off for 15 days from April 15, 8am to 8pm daily. It won't be enforced on Sundays. All exemptions that were in force the last time round are being repeated, besides schoolchildren being kept out of the ambit this time. However, as the government has not been able to come up with a solution for parents -read men because women are exempt -going to pick up children from school in the afternoon, it has asked them to either carpool or look for alternatives. The assumption is that children will be dropped well before 8am and hence the morning hours don't pose a problem.
"Vehicles with schoolchildren are exempt and hence bringing them back from school is not a problem, for men or women. The question was how men would go to pick up these children in the afternoon. We found that it is largely the mothers who go to bring them back in the afternoon. Since women are exempt, this is not an issue. The problem is with fathers or male guardians. In the nine working days during this phase of odd and even, an individual will be affected for only four-five days. We, therefore, request them to carpool," said the CM.
The notification for the upcoming round will be sent to the lieutenant-governor on Monday. According to the draft, non-transport four-wheeled vehicles or private cars with registration numbers ending with an odd number can ply only on odd dates while the ones with registration numbers ending with an even number can ply on even dates. This will also apply to vehicles registered in other states but plying in Delhi. Those found violating the rule will be fined Rs 2,000.
The odd-even plan was started to reduce air pollution in the city but the results were highly disputed. This time, the government has made elaborate arrangements to monitor air quality at multiple locations to get a better idea of whether the plan does anything more than reduce congestion. Air monitoring stations have been set up at seven additional points at the borders with one station 2km inside Delhi's boundaries and 2km in the other state's boundary to check the impact on air pollution.
Transport minister Gopal Rai said around 90% of the arrangements had been made. Metro has added 30 coaches and was likely to make 3,248 trips a day against the 3,193 during the last phase. More security staff and ticket counters will also be provided at the stations.DTC will be deploying 6,000 buses while an army of civil defence volunteers, ex-servicemen and traffic police will be monitoring the situation.
Odd-even may be enforced for a fortnight every month in Delhi - Times of India
The Delhi government is seriously considering implementing the odd-even plan for 15 days every month.CM Arvind Kejriwal said this at a press meet called on Saturday to announce the next phase of odd-even from April 15.
Flagging round 2 for a fortnight, he said it would not be possible to make the plan permanent till the public transport system was made robust, which may take over
a year.
While the CM argued that people would face a problem only for four-five days each month if the government went ahead, such a decision could impact public opinion adversely. Without public transport being augmented and other measures to bring down pollution -which was the original objective -it may end up inconveniencing commuters. They will have to move around their schedules and the scheme could boomerang. For now, the second phase of the plan will take off for 15 days from April 15, 8am to 8pm daily. It won't be enforced on Sundays. All exemptions that were in force the last time round are being repeated, besides schoolchildren being kept out of the ambit this time. However, as the government has not been able to come up with a solution for parents -read men because women are exempt -going to pick up children from school in the afternoon, it has asked them to either carpool or look for alternatives. The assumption is that children will be dropped well before 8am and hence the morning hours don't pose a problem.
"Vehicles with schoolchildren are exempt and hence bringing them back from school is not a problem, for men or women. The question was how men would go to pick up these children in the afternoon. We found that it is largely the mothers who go to bring them back in the afternoon. Since women are exempt, this is not an issue. The problem is with fathers or male guardians. In the nine working days during this phase of odd and even, an individual will be affected for only four-five days. We, therefore, request them to carpool," said the CM.
The notification for the upcoming round will be sent to the lieutenant-governor on Monday. According to the draft, non-transport four-wheeled vehicles or private cars with registration numbers ending with an odd number can ply only on odd dates while the ones with registration numbers ending with an even number can ply on even dates. This will also apply to vehicles registered in other states but plying in Delhi. Those found violating the rule will be fined Rs 2,000.
The odd-even plan was started to reduce air pollution in the city but the results were highly disputed. This time, the government has made elaborate arrangements to monitor air quality at multiple locations to get a better idea of whether the plan does anything more than reduce congestion. Air monitoring stations have been set up at seven additional points at the borders with one station 2km inside Delhi's boundaries and 2km in the other state's boundary to check the impact on air pollution.
Transport minister Gopal Rai said around 90% of the arrangements had been made. Metro has added 30 coaches and was likely to make 3,248 trips a day against the 3,193 during the last phase. More security staff and ticket counters will also be provided at the stations.DTC will be deploying 6,000 buses while an army of civil defence volunteers, ex-servicemen and traffic police will be monitoring the situation.
Odd-even may be enforced for a fortnight every month in Delhi - Times of India
