Keep Vehicles Off Road on Alternate Days: Delhi Government

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has come up with a radical proposal to bring the air pollution and traffic jams under control in the capital city.

The vehicles with odd and even registration numbers will be allowed on the roads only on alternate days from January 1, 2016. Emergency services like ambulances will be kept out of the arrangement, said an official statement.

The national capital has faced a lot of music recently for the alarming rise of air pollution prompting Delhi High Court to liken the situation to ‘living in a gas chamber.’ The government has asked the Transport Department and Traffic Police to work on the modalities to formulate the scheme on a war footing basis.

The government has urged the Environment Department to consider issuing orders to close Badarpur and Rajghat Thermal Power Plants to check air pollution.

“Air pollution in Delhi has been attributed to the Thermal Power Plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. The Delhi government will move an application in National Green Tribunal for the closure of the plant,” the government said.

The Public Works Department has been asked to expedite proposals to ‘vacuum clean’ the dust on city roads. The department has been told to carry out extensive horticulture works to ensure open areas prone to generating dust get a green cover.

The cut-off date for implementation of Euro-VI emission norms for India has been fixed at January 1, 2019, but the Kejriwal government has set a 2-year advanced deadline. “It was noted that goods trucks start moving on Delhi roads from 9 pm onwards while active traffic continues late into the night. Trucks slow down the rest of the traffic resulting in other vehicles spending longer time on the road which in turn contributes to the air pollution in a major way. The Transport Department, with the help of Traffic Police, has been asked to finalise a proposal to allow the movement of trucks in Delhi from 10 pm or 11 pm onwards,” said a senior government official.

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