The Aam Aadmi Party government’s recently announced odd-even vehicle restriction scheme to curb air pollution in Delhi has not only drawn criticism from various corners, but there is also a looming threat of a showdown with the Centre. Though chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who met Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, described the NDA government’s response to the scheme “very positive” and said that the Centre and Delhi police will support the initiative, challenges are abound to implement the formula and could result in confrontations between the police and the state government.
The biggest challenge facing the scheme is its enforcement. Delhi government officials said that they are studying three existing Acts under which it can impose a “heavy fine” for violating its odd-even scheme. An official said the government is studying three existing Acts
— Environment Protection Act, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Motor Vehicles Act — under which government can impose a penalty on the violators. However, it remains unclear as to how the violators will be nabbed and penalised. It will be an uphill task for the Delhi traffic police to book the violators under the new scheme with its limited manpower. Another challenge is the practicality of the scheme in a city which is dependent heavily on the private vehicles.
Experts said that the city lacks a robust public transportation system on which the masses can depend upon, while the government’s formula of allowing odd numbered vehicles on the odd dates and even numbered vehicles on the even dates is in place. Though the government has announced to shore up the public transport by bringing 6,000 additional buses on the roads and increasing the frequency of the metro services, experts feel it will still not be enough. People will be prone to harassment from autorickshaw drivers, they say.
The issues were flagged by the Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu who expressed his concerns to the new scheme and said that he had “no doubts” over the Delhi Government’s intentions but a thorough study was needed on its implications. He pointed out that a thorough study was required to assess its repercussions and practicality and said that the pollution cannot be controlled overnight.
The scheme still in its nascent stage is set to be rolled out from the New Year and will be prone to enforcement problems, which may lead to confrontations between the Delhi Police and the AAP Government, which already do not get along well.
The vehicle rationing scheme will be launched from January 1 on the lines of global cities such as Beijing under which private vehicles with odd and even numbers will be allowed to ply only on the odd and even days of the month. It is initially being launched for the first 15 days of January and will be applicable from 8 am to 8 pm every day, except for Sunday.
