Odd & Even Numbered Vehicles To Ply On Alternate Days From Jan 1 In Delhi
04 December, New Delhi
A day after the Delhi High Court observation that living in Delhi is akin to a gas chamber, the Arvind Kejriwal government today decided to permit even and odd number plates vehicles to run on alternate days from January 1, 2016, besides shutting down the Badarpur thermal power station .
The state government has made it clear that the order would not be applicable on the public transport vehicles. Additional steps would be taken to augment public transport fleet to reduce inconvenience to commuters.
Delhi Chief Secretary KK Sharma gave this information to mediapersons after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Kejriwal. ”Since the past few days, the situation has been very critical,” Sharma said.
Government, the Chief Secretary said, will start working right now on modalities of implementing these decisions. In addition to the Badarpur power plant, the Delhi government would also move the National Green Tribunal for closure of the neighbouring Dadri thermal power plant in Uttar Pradesh.
The government, he said, also proposed to allow trucks and other heavy vehicles on Delhi roads after 2300 hrs, as against 2100 hrs at present. This will reduce pollution as a large number of private vehicles of commuters that slow down because of the movement of these heavy vehicles would reach their destinations faster, resulting in reduction of emissions, the CS added.
Moreover, the trucks not possessing pollution under control certificates would be fined, he added.
Pollution level in winter increases every year. The odd numbered vehicles will run on odd days and the even numbered vehicles on alternate days. ”We are arranging alternate mode to make public transport more available to people,” Sharma said.
”The frequency of DTC buses, metro trains and school buses will be increased from January 1. Most of the trucks, which did not have certificates, were found visibly polluting the environment immensely. A penalty will be imposed on them. There are around 25 lakh commuters, who visit the national capital daily,” the Chief Secretary added.
Environmentalist Sunita Narain and lawyer Vardhman Kaushik, who had approached the NGT over the issue, welcomed the decision, but said the implementation of the decision was a major challenge.
Similar was the response from several daily commuters.
To ensure that public does not face difficulty of commuting because of the decision to restrict the number of private cars, the government will increase the number of buses and frequency of Metro. The DTC will hire more buses.