TIA NEWS / AMN
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday showed a conciliatory approach over the odd and even number scheme for private vehicles saying it will be tried out for limited period of time and it will be stopped if there are problems galore.
There is widespread apprehension among people over the odd and even number scheme for private vehicles.
With experts and Opposition parties questioning the practicability of the scheme, Kejriwal said many things were yet to be thrashed out including exemptions for certain private vehicles and it was a decision taken in principle which will be “thought through”.
“In principle, a decision has been taken. Many things are yet to be thrashed out. We will experiment with it for some time. May be for 15 days. If there are too many problems, it will be stopped,” he said at the HT Leadership Summit here.
Kejriwal said his government had planned to introduce the scheme at a later stage after strengthening the public transport system but was forced to take the drastic step following “panic” in the wake of Delhi High Court’s observation that the city has become a “gas chamber”.
Meanwhile Delhi Police has said that Aam Aadmi Party government did not consult it over the decision to restrict plying of private vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers to alternate days.
Talking media, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said, if the proposal ever comes to the department, it will be examined by the traffic department and further action will be taken only in public-interest.
Opposition parties have also slammed Delhi government in unison over the move aimed at checking pollution in the national capital. Delhi BJP state president Satish Upadhyay has said, the restriction announced on plying of vehicles is an easiest knee-jerk reaction after Delhi High Court’s harsh comments on pollution issue.
In a statement, he said the government has not presented any plan on how the ban will be executed and found the announcement as lacking vision.
Mr Upadhyay said, BJP is serious about the issue and believes that tough measures need to be taken to curb pollution. He advised the Kejriwal government to first order a detailed study in this regard and then come up with a plan to tackle the air pollution problem.
Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said his party was not opposed to the move as an idea, but added that the odd-even vehicle number formula is pre-mature and ill-conceived without preparations.
In a tweet, Mr Maken said, in the absence of adequate preparations, it is bound to fail, making it more difficult in the future to implement.
In a radical step to curb alarming air pollution, Delhi Government yesterday restricted plying of private vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers to alternate days from 1st of January in the national capital.
