As Delhi-NCR gears up to combat high-level of air pollution caused due to stubble burning in neighbouring states during winters, Gurugram may join in to implement the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme when the air quality deteriorates to ‘severe plus’ or ‘emergency’ category.
Deputy commissioner Amit Khatri said they were not ruling out the possibility of implementing the scheme in Gurugram on the lines of the project in Delhi, the Hindustan Times reported.
The deputy commissioner, in a letter dated October 9 to all departments and authorities in Gurugram, detailed the guidelines and directions to check the worsening of the air quality index (AQI) and asked them to implement the odd-even scheme “when the PM2.5 levels cross 300 ug/m3 or PM10 levels cross 500 ug/m3 (five times above the standard) and persist for 48 hours or more”, the report said.
The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) had last month asked Delhi and its neighbouring states to start enforcing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from October 15.
On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the details of the vehicle rationing scheme in the Capital, which will be implemented from November 4-15. While no relief would be extended to privately owned CNG vehicles under the odd-even scheme, women would be exempted.
“This means a vehicle driven by a woman which has all women occupants will be allowed to ply, keeping in mind the security aspect,” he said.
During the 12-day scheme, vehicles will ply alternately on odd and even dates as per their registration numbers. In the previous two experiments in January and April in 2016, a fine of Rs 2,000 was imposed on the violators of the rule.
According to the graded response action plan (GRAP) devised by the Central Pollution Control Board, the odd-even scheme for private vehicles is implemented when the pollution level at 'severe plus' category persists for 48 hours or more.
The air pollution level in Delhi remains low in 11 months of a year but picks up in November due to stubble (parali) burning in the neighbouring states. Dense cloud of smoke covers Delhi, which becomes a gas chamber, Kejriwal had said.
The scheme had met with some opposition and the Central Pollution Control Board had told the National Green Tribunal in 2016 that there is no data to suggest that odd-even scheme has any impact on decrease in vehicular pollution and the fluctuations in PM10 and PM2.5 is due to weather and change in wind patterns.