The Delhi government on Monday made a fresh appeal to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the implementation of odd-even road rationing in the national capital.
According to the news agency reports, the government has asked the NGT to make few changes to their initial order. The government in its new appeal has argued that the exemption of the women from following the odd-even formula was to ensure their security.
"If we don't exempt women from following the 'odd-even' road rule, we will indirectly put their lives at risk," said an official.
However, the NGT in a reply to the fresh appeal by the Delhi government has said that they will hear the plea on Tuesday.
After a slight respite for 24 hours, the city's air quality deteriorated on Sunday with a sharp rise in pollutant level. Both PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels, measured at 480 and 712 micrograms per cubic metre, respectively, were back at the "emergency" threshold of the Graded Response Action Plan.
The Delhi government last week decided to reintroduce the odd-even formula on the roads from Nov 13-17 amid the rise in the pollution level in the state.
However, On Saturday, the National Green Tribunal gave its nod to the odd-even scheme, which allows only odd- and even-numbered private vehicles on the roads on alternate days, from November 13 to 17. However, it strongly rejected the government’s plan to let two-wheelers and vehicles driven by women stay on the roads. Given these new conditions, the Delhi government decided to put the move on hold.
Environment experts argued that two-wheelers are major contributors to air pollution and allowing them to stay on the roads defeats the purpose of the odd-even scheme.
In contrary, the Delhi government said they will hold the decision for the time being and will approach the NGT today with a fresh petition to allow the women to get exempted from the road rule.
“We will explain to the NGT that we cannot compromise on women’s security,” a Delhi government official said.
United Airlines has earlier last week suspended all flights to Delhi from Newark until Monday due to the deteriorating air quality. Many trains got canceled due to the smog.
Some hospitals in Delhi also reported that the numbers of the patient have seen a spike from the last week with people complaining of burning sensation in their eyes and heaviness in breathing.
(With Agency Inputs)
