Delhi Government to enforce Odd-Even rule for cars from Nov 13

To curb the worsening air quality in the national capital, the Delhi state government has announced that it will enforce the ‘Odd-Even’ rule for cars immediately after Diwali, between November 13 and 20. The scheme would limit the number of privately-owned cars on the roads by allowing vehicles with license plates ending in an odd digit to ply on odd dates, and those ending with an even digit to ply on even dates. 

While all privately owned cars will fall under the ambit of the scheme, certain vehicle categories will remain exempted. Cars running on CNG, as well as electric vehicles (EVs), are likely to remain exempt from the week-long Odd-Even scheme which aims to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.

The Odd-Even scheme was first implemented in the national capital in 2016 and was later invoked in 2017, and 2019 as well, as a temporary traffic rationing measure to address the issue of air pollution in the city, which is often aggravated during the winter months. The basic idea behind the Odd-Even scheme is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and, in turn, reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.

On November 5, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) implemented the Stage-IV of the GRAP – Graded Response Action Plan – in response to the persistent Severe+ AQI in Delhi over the last few days, and banned entry of all heavy trucks into the national capital, alongside the usage of BS-III petrol, and BS-IV diesel cars.