Odd-Even Scheme May Be Extended If Required, Says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that the Odd-Even scheme in Delhi may be "extended extended if needed". The scheme is scheduled to end on Friday. The traffic rationing scheme that began on November 4 for 12 days was relaxed on November 11 and 12 for the celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The air quality of Delhi is in "severe" category on Wednesday, with not much improvement expected for the next two days, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research said as the national capital docked the Air Quality Index at 467 in the morning.

"We are thinking of extending the Odd-Even scheme. If needed, we will extend the scheme," Mr Kejriwal said as air pollution level in Delhi remains in "severe" category.

"The air quality got better by October 10, but after stubble-burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana, the pollution levels increased again. Despite Supreme Court's direction, the two states continue to burn stubble and people of Delhi are at the receiving end," the Chief Minister said.

"Many factories in Punjab are ready to convert stubble into coal and electric power distribution company NTPC is ready to buy that coal," he added.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court issued notice to the Delhi government on a PIL, filed by an advocate Sanjiv Kumar, challenging its odd-even scheme terming it an illegal classification of vehicles. The court will now hear the matter on November 15. It also sought pollution data from Delhi government and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) from October till November 14 and from October 1 to December 31, 2018, news agency PTI reported.