Odd-even scheme an attempt to ‘mislead’ people, courts: Delhi L-G

New Delhi, November 7

In a recent turn of events, the Delhi government’s proposed odd-even scheme, aimed at combating air pollution after Diwali, has ignited controversy and allegations of misrepresentation.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on Tuesday said the odd-even scheme announced by the Aam Aadmi Party government is nothing but an attempt to ‘mislead’ people and courts to ‘divert’ attention from the crisis caused by air pollution in the national capital.

An official at Raj Niwas said, “The file clearly shows that the decision to implement the scheme as a part of measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage-IV was not approved by Environment Minister Gopal Rai.”

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was out of town when the proposal was under discussion, leading to his office deferring a decision regarding the odd-even rule, the official added.

The L-G conveyed his anguish on the casual approach of the government on the unfortunate delay to tackle the issue of pollution in the capital.

“The file had proposed to limit physical classes in schools, reduce office staffing to 50%, close colleges and educational institutions and implement an odd-even system for vehicle registration numbers,” the official said.

The CM and Environment Minister approved all these measures, except for the odd-even rule, which they wanted to decide upon after seeking advice from experts, the official added.

The L-G Secretariat, in a note to the Chief Minister’s office, expressed its dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the file.

“The orders for implementing GRAP measures were to be issued under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, delegated to the L-G by the Government of India,” an official explained.

The official further explained that the file was only resubmitted to the Minister on November 3. It reached the CM’s office the same day, with a note indicating the CM’s absence despite the increase in pollution.

“Ultimately, the file made its way to the L-G Secretariat on November 4, even as public announcements regarding the implementation of stage-IV GRAP actions had already been made in the media, and the order was issued on November 5,” the official at the L-G office pointed out.

Meanwhile, Gopal Rai refuted Saxena’s claims and said officials are ‘misleading’ the L-G. Rai said, “The decision to implement the odd-even scheme was taken on November 6. How can the scheme be mentioned in the file on November 4 then?” — TNS

To divert attention

The L-G conveyed his anguish on the casual approach of the government on the unfortunate delay to tackle the issue of pollution in the capital. He said the scheme announced by the government is nothing but an attempt to ‘mislead’ people and courts to ‘divert’ attention from the crisis caused by air pollution.

#Aam Aadmi Party AAP #Diwali #Environment #Pollution #VK Saxena