The Delhi government is likely to take a decision on Thursday on whether to implement the odd-even scheme, even as authorities were directed to hike parking rates by four times and increase service frequency on the Delhi Metro and the Delhi Transport Corporation keeping in mind rising pollution levels in the city.
At an emergency meeting held in Raj Niwas on Wednesday, Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal ordered all Delhi government departments to “strictly enforce” 14 measures — ranging from checking the use of private vehicles to the banning of heavy vehicles from entering the Capital. The meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
DTC told to hire 500 buses
Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the government was ready to roll out the odd-even scheme if air pollution levels persisted in the ‘severe plus’ category for 48 hours. The final decision on the matter is expected to be taken on Thursday.
Mr. Gahlot said that the DTC had been directed to hire 500 buses on a short-term basis and the DMRC had been asked to procure 300 buses to handle the rush if and when the odd-even scheme was launched.
The Minister had, earlier during the day, held a meeting with top officials of the Transport Department, DMRC, DTC, Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transport System (DIMTS) and the divisional commissioner regarding preparations for the scheme during which two wheelers were expected to be exempted like its previous two renditions.
At the meeting in Raj Niwas, the L-G directed the civic bodies, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and all construction agencies to stop civil construction activities. The municipal corporations and the Public Works Department were told to intensify mechanical road sweeping and sprinkling of water.
The municipal corporations, the Delhi Development Authority and the DMRC were also told to enhance parking fees by four times.
Getting strict
Authorities were also told to put a stop to the use of firewood and coal in hotels and eateries, enforce a ban on the use of pet coke and furnace oil, “strictly enforce” a ban on use of electricity generator sets, intensify traffic management to avoid congestion, curb open waste burning, and imposing fines on construction agencies if inadequate dust control measures were noticed.
The L-G also directed the Education Department to appeal to parents to ensure their kids do not engage in outdoor activities.
More metro trains
Hours after the meeting, the Delhi Metro announced that its trains will undertake over 180 additional trips from Thursday and charge four times the prevalent parking rates to discourage use of private vehicles.
