Odd-even scheme to be reintroduced for a fortnight from April 15 in Delhi

The odd-even scheme will be back in Delhi for a fortnight from April 15, the state’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday.

The scheme, which was tried on a pilot basis in the first fortnight of the year, is being reintroduced for two weeks following a survey conducted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in which more than 80 per cent said they wanted a return to the plan, pointed out Kejriwal.

Under the scheme, only cars with odd registration numbers will be allowed on roads on odd days and even-numbered vehicles on other days. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the high pollution levels in the national capital.

Kejriwal said women drivers and the nearly four million two-wheeler vehicles will be exempt from the scheme. According to him, the city’s public transport network would not be able to bear the burden of millions of additional commuters if two-wheelers were also to be part of the scheme.

The state government also announced other measures including shutting down diesel-fired power plants and introduction of vacuum cleaning of Delhi’s roads to bring down pollution levels.

The AAP leader, however, ruled out the possibility of the scheme becoming permanent as he felt Delhi Metro and public buses would not be able to handle the additional traffic at present.