Air Pollution: Do Delhiites Support Arvind Kejriwal's Ambitious Odd-Even Scheme? Survey Says This

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's ambitious scheme for combating pollution during the winter season is about to make a comeback once again. While the Delhi government has expressed a desire to implement the scheme from November 13 for a week, the proposal is on hold as of now after the Supreme Court questioned the move. The Supreme Court questioned the Delhi Government’s decision to impose the odd-even scheme for private vehicles in Delhi tering the odd-even as 'all optics'. 

Meanwhile, a survey by the Local Circle has revealed that a majority of Delhites are not in favour of the scheme. The 2023 survey asked Delhi NCR residents whether they support the Odd-Even scheme. "Out of 10,644 respondents, 36% or around one-third stated 'yes' and 64% stated 'no'. To sum up, 64% of Delhi NCR residents surveyed do not support the introduction of Odd-Even vehicle rule as a solution to air pollution," revealed the survey.

The respondents shared their concerns regarding the scheme as well. "The biggest group of 56% indicated that 'two-wheelers', which account for a large number of vehicles on the road, should not be exempt; 44% opposed exemption to 'women drivers alone or with child up to 12 years of age'; 44% indicated 'vehicles with person/s with physical disabilities'; 33% indicated 'private vehicles with school children in uniform (only during school timings)'; 22% indicated 'electric vehicles' and 22% of respondents indicated 'other exemptions not listed above'. To sum up, 56% of Delhi-NCR residents surveyed are opposed to 1 or more exemptions in Odd-Even vehicle rule implementation," said the survey. 

First implemented by the Kejriwal-led government in 2016, the odd-even rule, which allows private four-wheelers to be driven only on alternate days according to the last digit of their number plate, had limited impact mainly due to the many exemptions. Odd and Even system for private cars in 2016 for two weeks had led to inconvenience for many, some even buying a new vehicle and many finding car-pool partners to travel to their workplace. While it led to smoother traffic, the impact on pollution was marginal.

The survey received over 21,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram & Faridabad. 63% of respondents were men while 37% of respondents were women.