Odd-even formula: Mr Kejriwal do you have answers for these questions?

New Delhi: Although the Delhi High Court refused to stay the odd-even formula and pass any order on a Public Interest Litigation filed on Wednesday challenging the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government’s decision to implement the controversial scheme to check air pollution, the division bench of justices G Rohini and Jayant Nath has asked the state to consider the contentions and objections in advance while formulating the scheme. The court fixed 6 January 2015 as the next date of hearing.[caption id=“attachment_2550538” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. PTI[/caption] Take a look the concerns raised in the PIL and what would you like to say in response: 1. Mr Chief Minister, your government has decided to implement the formula from 1 January to 15 January 2016 on trial basis as solution and alternative to less number of private vehicles on road, and increase the number of buses in the city. Don’t you think both solutions are not suitable or advisable for a city that has peripheral satellite towns which are feeder towns to the main city in terms of manpower? 2. Diesel is one of the most polluting fuels being used in vehicles in the city. Diesel engines have higher emissions of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and much higher emissions of particulate matter than petrol driven vehicles. According to a study entitled ‘Emission Factor Development for Indian Vehicles’ conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India in 2008, commercial vehicles are using diesel as fuel and are huge contributors to air pollution in the National Capital. It is pertinent to point out while considering the use of diesel in various sectors that cars account for only 13 percent of the total diesel consumption as against the 53 percent by commercial vehicles such as buses, goods vehicles, commercial cars and three wheelers. By promoting use of commercial vehicles, how will you curb the emission of toxic gases? 3. At present, the fleet strength of Delhi transport Corporation (DTC) stands at 4,705 for 45 lakh commuters. There are only 2,506 non-AC and 1,275 AC low floor buses. Each bus makes 10 trips a day on an average and maintenance of these buses is a big task. Further, on an average, at least 600 break downs are reported on these buses everyday, which means that at least half of these buses are out of the day’s schedule. In actual operational terms, not even 4,705 buses are on the roads everyday. In the morning shift, which sees maximum number of buses being put into service, only 4,200 buses are out as scheduled on an average. In the evening, this number goes down to barely 3,800. Your government has suggested bringing in 7,000 new buses to filling the gap. But won’t the move bring in more congestion and slow traffic to the already overburdened and under-constructed roads? 4. The DTC has been waiting for 1,380 buses for over two years even though funds were approved by previous governments. There is only one bus to cater to thousands of commuters here. Why? 5. Further, the Metro still covers only 12 percent of the area of the city within walking distance. Many such metro projects, which are under construction, are delayed. In this condition, how will you manage the crowd? 6. Delhi is surrounded by small cities commonly known as National Capital Region (NCR). An NCR is metropolitan area that encompasses the entire National Capital territory of Delhi, which includes New Delhi, as well as urban areas surrounding it in neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. NCR is India’s largest and one of the world’s largest agglomerations with a population of over 47,000,000 as per the 2011 Census. All the areas of NCR together generated GDP of $128.9 billion in 2011-12, which was 7.5 percent of the Indian GDP. It is a well-known fact that these regions are located in different states such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and each state is differently developed. All have infrastructure and connectivity problems. Millions reach Delhi from these districts for work from Noida to Gurgaon and vice versa. Further, these satellite districts were developed with the main motive to provide impetus to industries. And most importantly, these districts provide employment to several persons. A majority of places in Delhi or in the satellite towns are not well connected with public transport and the only option is a private vehicle. If the scheme of odd and even numbers is implemented every alternate day, don’t you think that the satellite towns and districts will become inaccessible to several persons who do not have the registration number of the vehicle which is applicable on that given day? 7. The connectivity with Delhi from Noida and Ghaziabad is primarily through cars. Everyday, nearly 1,10,000 cars travel between these cities. If the scheme is implemented, it will render 55,000 of the cars plying between the cities ineligible for driving. Now, take a look at the connectivity of the satellite cities (Ghaziabad and Noida) via metro. Both Vaishali metro station in Ghaziabad and Noida City Centre, metro trains run packed in peak hours. The average daily footfall at Vaishali metro station is 40,000 and the Noida City Centre is 30,000. If all those people rendered ineligible to drive, switch to metro, the total average footfall per day will become around 60,000 at Noida and 65,000 at Vaishali. Therefore, the burden on public transport in these neighbouring cities will be beyond manageable and will lead to chaos. In addition, in the absence of clear-cut guidelines for citizens travelling through the midnight and those who are travelling from different states through the city, how will your government manage? 8. It has also been reported that people have begun considering if they should own two cars – one ending with an odd number and the other ending with an even number as, to them, it appears to be the only plausible solution to the decision. Will it not aggravate the existing problem? Will the decision also not lead to number tampering? 9. There are several citizens in this city who have degenerative ailments like rheumatic arthritis and similar medical conditions, which do not allow them to either walk long distances as required when commuting by metro or board buses because they do not have the agility in their body parts. It does not allow them to raise their knees to a height where they may be able to travel by buses or by autos. Further, several people with compulsory dialysis problems need to carry their kits with themselves and require a private vehicle. With the implementation of this scheme, they will be at a disadvantage. How are you handle their concern? 10. In order to curb air pollution in the city, the National Green Tribunal had imposed an environmental compensation charge on commercial vehicles that are non-destined and are passing through Delhi to other areas. There has been an imposition of tax on plying of commercial vehicles, still the level of air pollution has remained the same. Have you failed to utilise the amount collected from these vehicles to protect the environment? Why don’t you identify and target the high emission zones in the city and check the change in the air pollution level by allowing movement of all vehicles for specific time? Instead of implementing it for the entire city, these measures can be implemented zone-wise. 11. Why don’t you implement or direct the manufacturers of diesel vehicles to install Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) in order to reduce emission from these vehicles instead of phasing out diesel vehicles from Delhi? Reacting on the issue, co-petitioner Manoj Kumar described the government’s proposed move as “arbitrary, illegal, irrational, illogical, unconstitutional without jurisdiction and violative of the provisions of Article 14, 19(1) (g), 21, 300A of the Constitution” of the country. “The Hon’ble High Court has today asked the Delhi government to consider all the issues raised in the PIL against the ODD-Even Scheme while formulating it. The matter has now been fixed for 6 January 2016,” he told Firstpost adding that the AAP government in the city “has to ensure that it deals with each of the contentions raised in the PIL”. He said instead of tackling the twin challenges of scaling up public transport facilities in the city and improving traffic management systems, the government is taking to a “knee-jerk reaction”. “The Odd-Even Scheme fails to deal with the main causes of pollution in the city, apart from failing the appreciate that this is an issue that can only be tackled by having an action across the complete National Capital Region (NCR) and not just Delhi. The PIL lists out the impact of such a scheme on various categories of persons and the various measures which the government should take to tackle pollution in the City,” Kumar said.