The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to interfere with the AAP government’s even-odd scheme of vehicle rationing in the capital, saying it was a policy decision taken based on expert knowledge to curb air pollution.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said the pilot project was for a limited period of 15-day, “We are of the view that interference by this court is not warranted”.
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai thanked the High Court for its verdict.
The bench, however, asked the Delhi government to consider the issues raised in over 12 different petitions against the scheme before coming out with similar scheme in future.
The bench had earlier asked the government if the data collected till date “was enough” to gauge the effectiveness of the policy.
The government had on Friday defended the road rationing policy saying it has a “definite positive” effect against air pollution in the capital and told the HC that it may extend it beyond the trial period.
On Friday last, senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for the Delhi government, had submitted a status report on data collected regarding air pollution from January 1-8 after the ambitious road space rationing plan was introduced.
He had defended the scheme, calling it a result of the “emergency” situation that has arisen because of the high level of air pollution in the city.
He had also submitted a report by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, which stated that pollution in Delhi this winter has been four times beyond the safety standard.
“There has not been a single good air quality day this winter. Pollution is not going to go away. The odd-even scheme is an emergency measure to arrest the peaking of the air pollution levels,” Salve had said, adding that the scheme had succeeded in arresting the upward trend in air pollution.
The AAP government had told the court that it was in the process of buying more buses to augment the fleet of the city’s existing public transport system.
The alarming pollution levels in Delhi have been making international headlines, while the judiciary has stepped in and forced authorities to adopt stringent measures.
For 15 days from January 1, private cars are being allowed on the city’s roads every other day to try to reduce pollutant levels, which regularly hit 10 times the World Health Organization’s safe limits. Cars with odd-numbered licence plates have been directed to ply on odd-numbered dates, and those with even-numbered plates on the other days.
