Odd-even may return in winter when pollution peaks, says Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the odd-even car rationing scheme may return in the winter.

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the odd-even car rationing scheme may return in the winter.

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The chief minister was answering a query on the scheme during the interactive Talk to AK programme.

HT had reported on Tuesday, quoting Delhi minister Satyendra Jain, that the odd-even scheme may be implemented in the city again during the winter since pollution load is less during monsoon.

“We will surely think of implementing it. Transport Minister (Satyendra Jain) has already said that pollution goes up during winter months. So we will think of implementing it during the winter months,” Kejriwal said.

The car rationing scheme was implemented in the first fortnight of January and the second fortnight of April this year to control rising pollution in the capital. WHO had listed Delhi as the most polluted city in the world.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was present with Kejriwal during the programme, reiterated the Delhi government’s commitment to strengthen public transport as a long-term measure for controlling pollution in the Capital.

Jain, who recently took over the transport portfolio, recently told reporters that there was no need to implement the third phase of odd-even scheme during monsoon as pollution is usually at its lowest level during the period.

“Whenever the scheme is implemented, it would be in the winter season when the pollution levels are high,” he had said.

In its third annual list of top leaders across the world, Forbes magazine had credited Kejriwal for his government’s ‘odd-even’ plan .

The Delhi government was forced to take the road rationing measure for the first time in January as pollution levels touched alarming levels. While most residents agreed that the scheme helped bring down vehicular congestion in the first phase, its success in reducing pollution levels was debated by several agencies.