Acknowledging the rising menace of pollution in the city, the Gurugram administration is thinking about implementing the odd-even traffic scheme following in the footsteps of Aam Aadmi Party in neighbouring Delhi. As per the data from Central Pollution Control Board, Gurugram was the most polluted city in the country on Sunday and with Diwali coming in a few days, the issue of contaminated air is expected to aggravate. Thus, the Gurugram administration took steps to implement a ‘graded action plan’ from Sunday. The action plan, which is chalked out by the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority, aims to curb emissions from all sources. The plan issued by the city administration, on Saturday, also said ‘introduce odd-even scheme for private vehicles based on number plates’.
Meanwhile, the social media has been abuzz with reactions (mostly, negative), since the spread of the news. People are targeting BJP (ruling party in Haryana) for copying Arvind Kejriwal’s plan. One of the tweets said, “BJP made fun of the odd-even experiment in Delhi and now it will be implementing the same scheme in Gurugram”. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar is also being targeted by many. One amongst such tweets said, ” The CM of Haryana lacks the will-power and drive to implement the scheme”. Many are also accusing the government of being incapable of thinking of a permanent solution for the issue.
However, it must be noted that, as per orders, the scheme will only be implemented if pollution levels go worse, precisely, when (particulate matter) PM2.5 levels jump between 121 and 250 g/m³ or PM10 levels comes between 351g/m³ and 430g/m³.
