Delhi Environment
Minister Gopal Rai announced that the State Government would delay the proposed
implementation of the odd-even car-rationing scheme in the city.
“An improvement is
seen in the pollution level. The AQI which was 450+ has now reached around 300.
The decision to implement odd-even from November 13 to 20 has been postponed.
The situation would be analysed again after Diwali” said the Delhi Environment
Minister.
The announcement
comes after the Supreme Court, earlier in the day, directed the Delhi Government to make a definitive decision on the implementation of the Odd-Even
Scheme. The court, however, refrained from taking a decision itself, leaving
the matter in the hands of the State Government.
The odd-even
scheme allows the cars to operate in the national capital on alternate days
based on their odd or even registration numbers.
The overall air
quality in Delhi at 7 am today was 407, according to data by the government’s
air-quality monitoring agency SAFAR.
The Supreme Court
on Friday observed that the report from the Amicus Curiae had suggested that
the Odd-even scheme did not help in bringing pollution levels down.
“Don’t try to not
perform and then shift the burden on to the court,” the Supreme Court told the
Delhi government after the government submitted that it will finalise policy on
odd-even after Supreme Court’s order.
The Delhi
Government said it is waiting for the detailed order of the court to make its
final submissions.
“We presented our
submission in front of the Supreme Court. We are waiting for the written order
from the Supreme Court. We will analyse the court’s order and then make a
decision” said Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
The Delhi Government
is making efforts to execute anti-pollution measures, and it is also
considering the idea of ‘artificial rain’ to curtail the pollution issue.
Several ministers of the Aam Admi Party were also seen on the ground on
Thursday night inspecting the execution of anti-pollution initiatives.
The AAP Government
has decided to field Delhi ministers to ensure the implementation of
anti-pollution measures.
Currently, Stage
IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented in the
national capital after the city’s air quality plummeted to the ‘severe plus’
category.
ANI
