Delhi govt says the odd-even scheme will not come into effect for now

Gopal Rai said the government will review the air quality situation after Diwali, and a call on the odd-even scheme may be taken if there's a sudden dip in air quality

Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday afternoon that there will be no odd-even traffic restriction scheme in Delhi from November 13 to November 20 as there has been a significant improvement in Delhi's air quality due to rain. The odd-even scheme - which restricts only privately-owned car traffic based on registration numbers - was to be implemented starting November 13.

Rai said the government will review the air quality situation after Diwali, and a call on the odd-even scheme may be taken if there's a sudden dip in air quality. "... an improvement is seen in pollution levels. The AQI, which was 450+, has now reached around 300. (So) the decision to implement odd-even from November 13-20 has been postponed. The situation will be analysed again after Diwali," the minister said. Rai had earlier stated that the odd-even car rationing scheme would be implemented in the national capital after the Supreme Court reviewed its effectiveness and issued an order.

While hearing a matter on the worsening air quality in the Delhi-National Capital Region today, the Supreme Court said the court had nothing to do with the odd-even scheme, and it will not issue any direction on it. The court reiterated that the decision on the odd-even car rationing scheme in the national capital has to be taken by the city government.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court questioned the effectiveness of the Delhi government's car-rationing scheme and referred to it as "all optics". Earlier this week, the Delhi government announced that the "odd-even" scheme for vehicles will be implemented from November 13 to 20.