HC puts question mark on continuing with odd-even

Taking note of the inconvenience caused to the public at large by the odd-even rule for restricting vehicles on the roads, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Aam Aadmi Party government if the experiment could be discontinued after a week instead of the 15 days as originally stipulated.

Hearing a bunch of public interest writ petitions challenging the December 28, 2015, notification, a Division Bench of the court directed the Delhi government to submit the data indicating changes in pollution levels in the city since January 1, when the scheme was launched on an experimental basis.

The Bench, comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, observed that the government should pay attention to the “great inconvenience” caused due to the inadequate public transport system in the city as well as practical difficulties with implementing the odd-even scheme.

The Bench said the status report submitted by the government on Wednesday was vague and sought information about the pollution caused by taxis running on diesel and CNG, which have been kept out of the purview.

The court's directions came on the PILs by various individuals on different grounds, such as the legislative competence of the government to issue a notification fixing a fine of Rs.2,000 for violating the rule and exemption granted to women drivers and two-wheelers.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on Friday, while asking the government to file a status report with data on the pollution levels in different parts of the city till Thursday.

“Government must have collected data on pollution for six days. We think it is sufficient”.

Source:- The Hindu, 07-Jan-2016