No Final View Expressed On Delhi's 'Odd-Even' Scheme, Was Only Flagging Amicus's Concerns, Clarifies Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 10) clarified that it did not intend to dictate whether the odd-even rationing policy ought to be implemented in Delhi, and had only flagged the amicus curiae's concerns over its efficacy during the last hearing. This oral clarification came after Delhi's environment minister Gopal Rai said that the government will implement the odd-even car rationing scheme after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness. Under the odd-even scheme, which was introduced in 2016, vehicles with license plate numbers ending in an even digit are allowed to operate on even dates, while those ending in odd digits are allowed to ply on odd dates.A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and Ahsanuddin Amanullah was hearing a batch of pleas raising concerns over the deteriorating air quality in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The region typically faces heightened pollution during the winter months, largely due to factors such as stubble burning in neighbouring states.On the last occasion, the court questioned the effectiveness of Delhi’s ‘odd-even’ scheme in curbing vehicular pollution, terming it as ‘optics’ after amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh criticised the policy as 'unscientific'. Instead, the Delhi government was asked to report back on the restrictions imposed to regulate vehicle use by employing colour-coded stickers, with an orange tag representing diesel vehicles, and a blue tag representing compressed natural gas (CNG) and petrol vehicles. Amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh had called for a ban on vehicles with orange stickers. The colour-coded stickers, the court noted, have already been rolled out by the Delhi government. However, the neighbouring states are yet to implement the scheme, the bench was informed. Accordingly, it directed the governments of adjacent states to “obtain instructions”.Meanwhile, the Delhi government was asked to prevent the burning of municipal solid waste in the city and to ensure that only locally registered taxis operated within the capital. The court also took critical notice of a non-operational smog tower installed in Delhi’s Connaught Place. “This is ludicrous. We want the tower to be working,” the bench stated in its order, while summoning the chairperson of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on the next day. Today, Senior Advocate ANS Nadkarni explained that the smog tower cannot be operated during monsoons. "We sent a reminder to the Delhi government. From June to October, till it rains, the smog tower had to be shut down. In between, the weather suddenly changed.""The weather changes every year around this time. And, every year, the same problem arises. You have been trying to address this problem for six years, unsuccessfully," Justice Kaul exclaimed before referring to the morning showers in Delhi that marginally improved the air quality -"God may have heard the prayers of people and provided some relief. It is no thanks to any government."Coming down heavily on the union government, the Delhi government, as well as the governments of the neighbouring states, Justice Kaul said, "We have a lot of reports, theories, commissions, and interactions...But on a ground level, nothing is happening. We do not want to get into anything but the ground-level implementation."Next, speaking about the odd-even scheme, which Minister Gopal Rai has said will be implemented after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness, Justice Kaul clarified, "We had raised the issue of taxis coming into Delhi since it affects the whole area. The next thing you read is that they are planning on introducing odd-even in that as well. The court is not concerned with odd-even for taxis. They are now saying that they will wait for the Supreme Court order. But what does that have to do with this?"On behalf of the Delhi government, the Supreme Court was informed that a large number of diesel vehicles of the orange category have been banned from entering Delhi as an interim measure. Now, there are only diesel vehicles with an emission standard of Bharat Stage IV or higher plying in the streets of the national capital. "At the same time, they constitute a very small percentage of the larger polluting diesel vehicles. But then, taxis and other vehicles are also required or otherwise there will be a in terms of commutation and mobility," the court was told. In response, Justice Kaul said -"We agree and that is not something we have said. Do not try to non-perform and shift the burden onto the court. Now you're making a hue and cry about how other people will be affected but you have to do it. You have it. All we flagged was the issue is that the amicus was saying that the odd-even scheme has not proved to help. Now you want it for taxis? Did we ask you to do that? We didn't."The Delhi government objected to the contention that the odd-even scheme was ineffective. Referring to a study, the counsel argued, "It may...

No Final View Expressed On Delhi's 'Odd-Even' Scheme, Was Only Flagging Amicus's Concerns, Clarifies Supreme Court

Awstika Das

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