Did we ask you to implement odd-even on taxis, SC asks Delhi govt

The Delhi government said that the court's suggestion to ban app-based taxis registered outside Delhi from entering the capital may cause a problem for commuters

The Supreme Court on Friday thanked the timely rain in Delhi for reducing the smog in the capital and said that they are 'not looking at anything but ground-level implementation' to clear the skies of the capital.

'God may have provided some relief… must have heard our prayers in the morning… We are not looking at anything here but ground-level implementation,' Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, heading a three-judge Bench, said.

The Delhi government had in the morning told the court that the odd-even scheme had a positive impact in reducing road congestion, had increased the use of public transport in the capital, and reduced fuel consumption by 15 per cent.

The Delhi government also said that the court’s suggestion to ban app-based taxis registered outside Delhi from entering the capital may cause a problem for commuters.

Responding to this, the court said, 'All we flagged was an issue that the amicus was saying that really this odd-even does not help. It has not proved to help. But you say now, we will implement odd-even and also implement odd-even on taxis. Did we ask you to implement odd-even on taxis? We did not ask you to implement it,' the bench said.

The apex court had in the last hearing said the 'odd-even scheme' was merely for 'optics'. After this, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the scheme will be implemented only after the apex court has heard the matter on Friday (November 10).

Speaking about stubble burning, the court said there needs to be phasing out of paddy. 'You have to act. What will you do if somebody sets fire to stubble despite your norms and machinery… We are only flagging the issues. We are not calling for the demolition of Minimum Support Price for paddy. We want to know what you are doing for the slow phasing out of paddy from Punjab,' Justice Kaul observed.

Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh said that the State was taking up the issue of stubble-burning on a 'war front'. 'We have reduced farm fires by one-third. Thousands of fires have been extinguished,' he said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed five states, including Delhi, to stop stubble burning.

Under the odd-even scheme, vehicles with licence-plate numbers ending in an even digit are allowed to operate on even dates (such as November 8), while those ending in odd digits can run on odd dates.

'You have said that you have imposed alternative cars (even-odd). Did it succeed earlier? These are all optics; this is the problem,' Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul told the Delhi government in the last hearing.

The court directed the governments of Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi to take steps to immediately stop stubble burning by farmers. The court has asked the chief secretaries of these states to meet on November 8 and submit a report by November 10. It said the responsibility for preventing crop burning would be on the station house officers, directors general of police, and chief secretaries of these states.