SC asks Delhi govt to prove odd-even plan cut pollution

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Delhi government to present on Friday data on its claim that the odd-even scheme helped reduce pollution in the national capital.

The Division Bench, comprising Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Deepak Gupta, asked the Delhi government counsel to explain the logic behind the scheme while hearing a matter related to air pollution.

"We can understand banning diesel vehicles. But what's the point of the odd-even scheme. You are stopping one vehicle, others are plying," the court said, asking it to place data on the scheme on the next date of hearing.

"What will you achieve by the odd-even scheme by stopping cars from plying. What's the use," the court asked and observed more auto-rickshaws and taxis would ply, causing more pollution.

Responding to the court's observation, the Delhi government counsel said autos and taxis were using the compressed natural gas (CNG), which were environment-friendly and didn't cause pollution. The scheme would reduce vehicles as well as pollution in the national capital, he added.

The court also pulled up the Delhi government for procuring only 300 buses in the last three years and asked it to improve public transport. "You have not procured adequate number of buses. We can understand, if you had put more buses on the road," the court said.

The government submitted that it was urging people to go for car-pooling. The court said in some countries there were dedicated lanes for vehicles carrying more people.

The odd-even scheme, which started on Monday, will continue till November 15. Nearly 200 teams of the Delhi Traffic Police have been deployed to ensure compliance and around 5,000 volunteers have been trained to create awareness about the scheme.IANS