Chandigarh plans to go car-free once a month

Chandigarh, the city with the highest per capita vehicle in the country, is all set to witness a car-free day, likely to begin later this month and proposed to be a monthly affair for now.
Though the modalities will be finalised on Monday, in all likelihood the first car-free day in the city will be February 28, a senior official said here.
As per the plan, private vehicles will be restricted for seven hours on the day, officials said.
Initially it is going to be on monthly basis, they said.
Frequency will be decided on the basis of response of city, officials said.

For the success of the initiative, the administration plans to introduce more buses to augment public transport so commuters do not face problems.

An awareness campaign will also be launched to encourage residents to support the scheme, official said.
Notably, Chandigarh has the highest per capita vehicles in the country and more than 10 lakh vehicles are registered in the city. Chandigarh has population of 10.55 lakh, as per census 2011.
The move comes close on the heels of odd-even road rationing scheme launched by the Delhi government last month to curb pollution.