The Delhi odd-even road rationing scheme has ended its maiden voyage in the national capital today. The 15-day experiment invited all sorts of reactions and will now be reviewed by the Delhi government.
But here we are, 15 days into the journey, and a portion of Delhi’s population is yet to understand the significance of this scheme. Road rationing in Delhi was misunderstood right from the start. Kejriwal was quick to clarify that road rationing was not a long-term solution but a kick starter of sorts. Delhi’s comfort-driven populace somehow grew immune to the idea of chucking their car keys for the sake of the environment. A hefty fine, strict vigilance, and some moral policing ensured that most of the city followed the rules. However, defaulters continued to crop up, especially in the South Delhi region.
It’s hard to paint the experiment in black and white. We’ve already discussed a number of factors affecting pollution in the national capital during the experiment’s 15-day period. But after some open support from the Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, and a pat on the back from the High Court as well as the Supreme Court, it is more than safe to say that the Delhi odd-even scheme has been successful in various departments. Peak pollution levels have gone down and decongestion of roads has emerged as an added advantage.
Odd-even scheme and traffic in Delhi
We know for sure that the overall flow of traffic benefited hugely from the Delhi odd-even scheme. Travel time from Noida to Gurgaon (via Delhi) during peak hours came down significantly and vehicular movement within Delhi was found to be smoother. There’s not much science at work here actually. If you reduce the number of cars plying on the roads on any given Sunday, you get two things; less traffic and less vehicular pollution. Thus odd-even managed to reduce traffic jams (which leads to rise in pollution due to prolonged emissions) and helped bring down the quantum of vehicular pollution.
Another important observation concerns the society on a different level. The Delhi odd-even scheme encouraged ‘car-pooling’ as a mode of transport. But why wasn’t Delhi car-pooling till now? Car-pooling promotes social relations, reduces the number of cars on the road, and helps bring down pollution levels.
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Recently, a bench of Supreme Court judges (SC Judges have been car-pooling despite being in the list of exemptions) complained that, “While we are car-pooling, you (Delhiites) are not ready to help the city clean its air.” Not a bad way to teach the citizens an important lesson.
Other concerns during odd-even scheme
Weather too played a rather dramatic role during the 15-day odd-even scheme in Delhi. Lack of dense to very dense fog meant lesser pollutants trapped in Delhi’s air. However, mostly light winds refused to assist in blowing away the pollutants. In addition to this, the driest December since 2008 meant no rain-fed cleaning for Delhi’s air.
Also, a number of PILs filed during this period exposed a few shortcomings in the scheme. The Supreme Court has asked the Delhi government to give due attention to the PILs which point out key problems associated with the experiment. Moreover, strengthening the public transport system remains the biggest challenge and the highest priority.
Summarizing the Delhi odd-even scheme
To sum it up, cornered by the people and the media initially, Delhi government has finally shown that the level of pollution can be controlled by reducing the number of cars plying on Delhi’s roads. It isn’t the end of the world though, as other key areas like industrial emissions and biomass burning also need to be neutralized. An IIT-Kanpur study revealed that road dust remains a major pollutant in Delhi.
Frankly speaking, the city has become used to hazy conditions. A shocking study states that as many as 30,000 premature deaths are expected in NCR by 2025 due to air pollution. If that doesn’t scare Delhiites, nothing else will. The onus is on the people of Delhi now, who must take charge, and support the government in their quest for clear blue skies over Delhi.
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