Even as the Delhi high court has expressed doubts over the state government’s odd-even scheme currently being tested in the capital, the Maharashtra government said it would consider implementing the same scheme in Mumbai. State finance minister SudhirMungatiwar on Thursday said that the decision on implementing the scheme in Mumbai would be taken after considering the results of Delhi’s 15-day drive.
Former MLA SachinAhir from NCP on Thursday met MrMungantiwar, who was the most senior BJP minister present in Mumbai on Thursday, and urged that the odd-even scheme be implemented in Mumbai. After the meeting, MrMunganiwar also said that there was no harm in trying the odd-even scheme in Mumbai to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. However, state transport minister DiwakarRaote has opposed the idea saying it is not feasible in Mumbai.
As chief minister DevendraFadnavis was in Pune and another senior minister EknathKhadse is in London for medical treatment, MrAhir met MrMungantiwar and demanded that the odd-even scheme for vehicles be implemented in Mumbai.
MrMungantiwar said, “If the plan is implemented, the plying of cars in Mumbai will be reduced by 50 per cent and will reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 26 per cent.”
The minister added that the results of the Delhi formula will take some time as it has been only four days since it was implemented.
Other political leaders like Shiv Sena’sRamdas Kadam and PratapSarnaik have also supported the scheme. In fact, MrSarnaik was the first one to demand its implementation on Tuesday.Mr Kadam, who is minister for environment, also said that the government would consider the demand only after a study of the Delhi pattern. “We will study the Delhi model and its results. Also, it should be noted that the number of vehicles and other factors in Delhi and Mumbai are not the same,” Mr Kadam said.
However, transport minister MrRaote said that the formula will not work in Mumbai. “The government collects taxes from people, then how can we restrict them from driving on streets?” he said. MrRaote further said that the government needs to find a solution to the situation by providing better public transport systems such as the mono rail, Metro and coastal road as an alternative.
On Wednesday, the Delhi high court had said that there were “practical difficulties” in implementation of the odd-even scheme currently being tested in Delhi and asked the Delhi government to consider if the policy should be restricted to an eight-day trial period instead of 15 days.
