Explain the logic behind Odd-Even Scheme, Supreme Court asks Delhi government

The Supreme Court today asked the Delhi government to explain the rationale behind bringing in the odd-even scheme in the capital region as a means to deal with air pollution..The Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta asked the government of NCT Delhi what the logic behind the odd-even scheme was, given that only private cars were brought under its purview..Two-wheelers and three-wheelers have been left out of the scope of the scheme, the Court was told. Additionally, taxis have also been exempted from the scheme. Given these facts, the Court wondered how the scheme would ensure bringing down pollution levels. Justice Mishra remarked,.“What will you achieve? You are stopping private cars, but autos and taxis can ply… they will ply more now and pollute equally.”.Justice Gupta weighed in on the discussion to say that the solution is to move from single use vehicles to mass use vehicles such as buses and metros. However, Justice Gupta was quick to point out that not much has been done by the authorities to add to the existing fleet of buses in Delhi. While it was claimed that around 3000 buses would be brought on the roads in Delhi, only a fraction of the same have actually been deployed..This exchange took place during the hearing in the Supreme Court on the pervading air pollution in Delhi NCR and other parts of Northern India..The Court, while issuing directions for taking immediate steps to tackle the air pollution crisis, also directed the govt of Delhi to submit its detailed response on the odd-even scheme..The response should be based on the data collected by the authorities as regards the effectiveness of the scheme when it was exercised the last time. This report is to be submitted before the Court on Friday, November 8, when the Court is likely to hear the case on this aspect of the air pollution crisis.