E-Paper
Fresh plea in SC against odd-even, says it is against fundamental rights
New Delhi: A fresh petition was filed on Thursday before the Supreme Court against Delhi government’s odd-even scheme introduced to control rising air pollution
New Delhi: A fresh petition was filed on Thursday before the Supreme Court against Delhi government’s odd-even scheme introduced to control rising air pollution in the Capital.
The petition says the scheme is against the fundamental rights given out in the Constitution of India and violates Section 115 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
“The scheme is arbitrary, irrational, unconstitutional and “done capriciously in an unreasonable manner without adequately determining principle cause and remedy,” the petition said, while questioning its efficacy.
The petitioner, Sanjay Kumar, said the scheme mismatches the objective to curb the pollution because it does not exempt two wheelers, the biggest contributor to pollution among vehicles.
“Three sources of Delhi air-quality data confirmed the odd-even system did not lower pollution levels: The union government’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); the Delhi’s government’s Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC); and India Spend’s Breathe network,” read the petition.
The petitioner quoted observations made by the National Green Tribunal in a case related to deteriorating air quality in Delhi. “On a fair analysis of the report submitted by DPCC, it is clear the odd-even scheme have not led to any substantial improvement in the ambient air quality of NCT, Delhi. This would clearly shows that other pollutant contributing factors need to be paid greater attention...” the NGT had said.
The scheme exempts women drivers and discriminates on the basis of gender, and the reasons behind the exemption are vague, mischievous and misconceived, Kumar said in his petition.
Keeping out auto rickshaws and taxi cabs showed the Delhi Government was keen on appeasing its “vote bank,” the plea said
On the other hand, CNG vehicles, which that were introduced to check air pollution, are under the ambit of the scheme, it said.
