The Delhi government has announced that the odd-even car rationing scheme will be implemented in the national capital after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai stated that the government will provide the results of two major studies conducted by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago and the Delhi Technical University to determine the scheme’s effectiveness for the Supreme Court to review. The decision on implementing the odd-even scheme will be made only after the Supreme Court’s review, with the next hearing scheduled for Friday.
The effectiveness of the Delhi government’s scheme was questioned by the top court on Tuesday, stating that it was merely for show. Previously, Gopal Rai had announced that the flagship scheme, which allows cars to operate on alternate days based on their odd or even number plates, would be enforced from November 13 to November 20.
The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Evidence for Policy Design conducted an analysis in 2016, finding that Delhi experienced a 14-16% reduction in PM2.5 levels during the hours the odd-even system was in force in January of that year. However, there was no reduction in pollution when the scheme was reintroduced in April.
In addition, the Delhi government has instructed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to restart the Connaught Place smog tower at full capacity and release the remaining funds to IIT Kanpur to continue a study on identifying different sources of pollution in the capital. Gopal Rai also mentioned that a special drive will be conducted to monitor and prevent open burning of waste in Delhi, with 611 teams assigned for this purpose.
