Odd-even plan: Traffic is less, pollution level isn't

With Delhi only a few hours into the AAP government’s odd-even scheme, car traffic at one of the busiest intersections in the city near the Income Tax Office – popularly known as ITO – appeared to be relatively sparse.

While trans-Yamuna commuters using cars still appeared to be present in normal numbers, traffic from the South Delhi side appeared to be thin.

Speaking to Business Standard, a policeman posted at the intersection said, “Personally, I haven’t seen as many offenders as I thought there would be today.”

However, volunteers, pressed into action to ensure the smooth enforcement of the scheme, were present in strength at the intersection, not to mention a sizeable contingent of reporters from various agencies, reaffirming ITO’s status as the pre-eminent bottleneck of Delhi

Auto-rickshaws were scarce going towards Mayur Vihar in the morning, according to a Business Standard reporter. However, the commute to office, via an Ola cab, was smooth with little or no traffic. Similar experiences  trickled in from Saket, South Delhi, where finding an auto-rickshaw proved to be difficult.

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While there seems to be a visible difference in traffic congestion on the roads, data form the air-pollution-tracking app Plume did not paint an encouraging picture.

Between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., the app showed a reading of 324-346. The reading stood at 315 at 11:00 a.m.

According to the scale built-in to the app, which draws data from the Central Pollution Control Board, any reading above 150 indicates extreme pollution. Official data on the impact of the scheme on air pollution is awaited.

A frequent commuter on the Jor bagh-ITO stretch said traffic was negligible at noon, but there were few policemen along the stretch, too, bar at the ITO crossing. The stretch from Jangpura to ITO, too, was free of traffic. However, police were present at junctions along that route; however, they had pulled over a number of two-wheelers for traffic violations unrelated to the odd-even scheme since such vehicles are among the laundry list of exemptions granted by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government.

There were a few dissenting voices, too, though. As usual, it was left to a cabbie to sum it up. “They are making a fool out of us. I was expecting a far greater flow of customers than this,” an Ola chauffeur grumbled.

The odd-even scheme, however, will face its first real test on January 4, when large numbers of officegoers are expected to return to work after the year-end holidays. Pollution readings will also be more representative starting then; for now, all it seems to have done is reduce the traffic in this snarling city.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, though, seemed like a man in a hurry to declare success. “I am truly overwhelmed by the response we have received so far. There are very less even-numbered cars on the roads. The plan seems to have been successful,” he told media less than six hours after his plan came into effect.

Arch-rival BJP, too, appeared to praise the scheme. “This is a great initiative and important step to curb pollution in the national capital. People have cooperated in successful implementation of the scheme,” Minister of State of Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was reported as saying. .

However, he criticised the Delhi government for politicising the issue. “If the initiative is even than the intention should not be odd. I think somehow the Delhi Government is trying to score political brownie points with this scheme,” he said.

Naqvi’s comments were in stark contrast to BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi’s. Lekhi had criticised the scheme on Thursday by saying, “This exercise is a faulted exercise. It is bound to fail. They are looking for an escape route and there is nothing better than putting the onus on the central government… If you really want to deal with pollution there are better ways to deal with it.”