Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said he and his ministers will pool cars when the ‘odd-even’ experiment for cleaner air begins in Delhi from January 1.
Speaking at the launch of NDTV Consulting Editor Barkha Dutt’s book, “The Unquiet Land”, Mr Kejriwal told NDTV that in the initial days, car-pooling could be the most “practical” option since buses can’t always be at hand.
In a humourous vein, he asked that those of the assembled political leaders who intend to pool cars raise their hands. “I will follow this, so will all my ministers and officers…. I will car-pool with the ministers who stay near my home,” he said.
“Those who have not raised their hands till now, didn’t (do so) out of shame. But I’m sure they’ll also follow,” he added.
As pollution levels soar beyond critical levels, making Delhi air lethal, the government has decided to start the radical move of trying out an odd-even formula that is expected to cut down the number of private cars on the city’s roads in half.
The move has drawn as much support as criticism. While a section of the judiciary, civil society and politicians have come out in its support, others have pointed out that Delhi does not have the necessary scale of public transport to support this.
Many have talked of the security angle for women and a case has been filed in court, contending that trucks were responsible for a substantial amount of pollution.
“We will check trucks, especially the overloaded ones… They pollute more,” the Chief Minister told NDTV. There will also be vaccum cleaning of roads, he said. Also, “All pavements will have greenery, the horticulture department has been told that we should have plants everywhere, so there is less dust,” he added.
Though the plan is yet to be fine-tuned, it will involve allowing odd-numbered cars on odd dates, like January 1, 3 and 5, and even-numbered cars on even dates.
It is being considered if single women drivers, cars with only women and patients will be exempted, the chief minister said earlier on Wednesday.