Delhi odd-even scheme: ‘Complete information’ on car policy to be shared with SC in next hearing, says Gopal Rai

Delhi government will share the “complete information” related to the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme with the Supreme Court during the next hearing, the national capital's environment minister Gopal Rai said on November 8.

“We have two major studies related to the odd-even policy. One was conducted jointly by Harvard University and Chicago University, and the other by Delhi Technical University. We will share its findings with the Supreme Court in the next hearing,” Rai said, while addressing the press.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government on November 6 announced that the odd-even policy, one of its flagship measures to combat air pollution, will be reintroduced from November 13-20.

The Supreme Court, however, questioned its effectiveness during a hearing over the air pollution crisis on November 7. "These are all optics, this is the problem," the top court bench said, as it asked the counsel representing the Delhi government to explain whether the policy had yielded result when it was earlier implemented.

Following the apex court's remarks, an uncertainty prevails over the reintroduction of the scheme next week. Rai said that the Delhi government will implement the scheme after the apex court reviews its effectiveness, news agency PTI reported.

“A call will be taken to implement the odd-even scheme only after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order," the minister was quoted as saying.

Notably, the odd-even policy was first introduced in 2016 by the Arvind Kejriwal government. As per the scheme, only vehicles with number plates ending with odd numbers would be allowed to ply on odd-numbered dates, and vice versa in case of number plates ending with even numbers.

While the scheme succeeds in reducing traffic congestion, its effectiveness in reducing air pollution remains uncertain, critics have claimed.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region (NCR) has been reeling under air pollution since the onset of the cooler weather. The air quality index (AQI) has ranged between 'poor' and ‘severe’ categories over the past 12 days. Earlier in the day, the overall AQI of Delhi stood at 395, falling under ‘very poor’ category.