'Attempt to mislead people': Delhi LG on AAP's odd-even scheme to curb pollution

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has said that the 'odd-even' scheme for plying vehicles in Delhi, which was announced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led state government, is an attempt to mislead the people and the courts. He also stated that the scheme was announced without a formal decision.

It was also alleged that the GRAP stage-IV implementation file sent to the lieutenant governor for approval stated that no decision had been taken on the odd-even scheme.

"The odd-even scheme announced by the AAP government is nothing but an attempt to mislead people and the courts to divert attention from the on-going severe crisis in the capital caused by air pollution," an official statement from LG's Office said, as per an India Today report.

"The file to this effect clearly shows that the decision to implement the 'odd-even' scheme as a part of measures under GRAP-IV was not approved by Minister Gopal Rai," it added.

Subsequently, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's office conveyed his approval to defer a decision on the 'odd-even' plying of vehicles as proposed by Gopal Rai since the CM was out of town.

The file sent to the LG proposed physical classes be discontinued for all up to Class 11 and lessons be conducted online, public, municipal and private offices work at 50 per cent strength, closure of all colleges, educational institutions and non-emergency commercial activities, and vehicles to run on 'odd-even' registration number basis.

According to the Delhi LG, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had approved all proposals from their end, except for the odd-even scheme, as they wanted a decision on implementation to be taken after advice from “experts”.

The Delhi government on Monday decided to reintroduce the odd-even rule from November 13 to 20 in view of the concerns of deterioration in air quality.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 395 on Tuesday, bringing a marginal improvement from the 421 recorded on Monday. However, on Wednesday, it entered the 'severe' category yet again.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

Meanwhile, amid this, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that there are a huge number of taxis or cabs plying on Delhi roads, with only one passenger each.

Noting that many such taxis have registrations in different states, the top court asked the Delhi government to consider allowing only cabs that are registered in the national capital.

"There is a large number of app-based taxis in Delhi which have registrations in different states. If we look at the roads, each one is carrying only one passenger," the court said.

"We would like to know whether there is any way of monitoring, especially, during this period of time, that only the taxis registered in Delhi are permitted to ply on roads, as an additional measure to control the pollution," the bench added.

(With inputs from India Today)

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