- Order was given by NGT on Dec 15 last year
- Stayed by Supreme Court, will not apply to two wheelers
The Supreme Court has stayed an order by the National Green Tribunal given on Dec 15, 2017, that even the two wheelers that ply on the capital city’s roads come under the purview of the ‘Odd-even’ scheme, in which vehicles with either odd or even numbers are banned from using public roads when particulate matter hits a particular limit.
However, the Supreme Court has stayed the order now. Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni stated that it would be impossible for Delhi’s transport system to take on the additional passenger burden that banning half of two wheelers will create. There are around 68 lakh two wheelers that ply the city’s roads.
The NGT ban has good intent, but it hasn’t taken into account what the Supreme Court has noticed: any effort to reduce personal vehicle usage has to also have in place the option of improved public transport. Last-mile connectivity also remains an issue. Lastly, none of the problem solvers seem to have realised the fact that the pollution in the capital city seems to spike whenever the farmers in the area surrounding the city set their fields on fire to clear them for the next crop.
