Second phase of odd-even scheme begins in Delhi

The Delhi government, on Friday (April 15), commenced implementation of the ‘odd-even’ formula for a second time after January this year. This time as well, the scheme will be applicable for a duration of fifteen days.

The number of vehicles on the roads are likely to be lower on the first day due to a public holiday. The true impact of the scheme will emerge on the first working weekday, which is Monday, April 18.

According to initial reports, metro and bus services within the city have been ramped up to accommodate the additional surge of commuters while the scheme is underway. Moreover, the government has decided to deploy more than 2,000 traffic police personnel for a smooth execution of the scheme. Motorists caught violating the policy will be fined a sum of Rs 2,000.

Besides, the Delhi government is seriously considering a proposal to enforce the odd-even scheme for 15 days every month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced earlier this week.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced at a news conference that the decision to bring back the radical scheme was taken since feedback from the people of the capital was predominantly positive.

The scheme was first applied for a 15-day trial period starting January 1, 2016, in a bid to reduce pollution in the city. Under this plan, cars bearing registration numbers that ended with an odd digit were allowed to ply on odd dates while those ending with an even digit were allowed to commute on even dates.

As a part of the blueprint laid out by the state government, the 'odd-even' formula did not extend to two-wheelers. The same rule will continue in the second phase as well. The scheme will also exempt CNG, hybrid and electric vehicles as well as those of top politicians. However, the Delhi Chief Minister and his ministers would remain within the scheme’s ambit.

According to reports, Kejriwal said the scheme cannot include two-wheelers since public transport wouldn’t be able to cope with the additional load. "If we implement the scheme on the nearly 30 lakh two-wheelers, there will be chaos," reports quoted Kejriwal as saying.

He claimed that 81 percent of the respondents to the surveys carried out following phase one of the scheme wanted the odd-even policy to return.

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