New Delhi :Delhi Government’s move to adopt odd-even number formula for plying of vehicles in the city to check pollution “lacked” vision, BJP today said and alleged that it was “easiest knee-jerk” reaction after High Court’s “harsh” comments on pollution issue.
The Delhi Congress also alleged that the odd-even vehicle number formula is “pre-mature, “ill-conceived and without preparations”.
“The restriction announced on plying of vehicles is an easiest knee-jerk reaction after Delhi High Court’s harsh comments on pollution issue. BJP does not support such moves,” party’s Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay said in a statement.
Upadhyay said the Government has not presented any plan on how the ban will be executed and found the announcement as “lacking” vision.
He advised the Kejriwal government to first order a detailed study in this regard and then come up with a plan to tackle the air pollution problem.
“BJP is serious about the issue and believes that tough measures need to be taken to curb pollution. BJP believes that a composite plan needs to be made to fight against pollution on the basis of a study,” he added.
Upadhyay also claimed that upper and middle class segment of city’s populace, which uses private vehicles as mass transport system, would be forced to buy alternate number vehicles if the ban realises.
Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said his party was not opposed to the move “as an idea”, but added, the odd-even vehicle number formula is “pre-mature” and “ill-conceived” without preparations.
“In the absence of adequate preparations, it is bound to fail, making it more difficult in the future to implement. It seems the Government is trying to politically deflect the issue of a failed and weak Lokpal coupled with flak on salary hike for MLAs,” he said in a statement released on twitter.
Maken also picked loopholes in city’s infrastructure including dearth of parking space and mass transportation system, which he said, doesn’t provide last mile connectivity.
Maken also found implementing Beijing-like solution to Delhi’s pollution woes as “absurd” given the latter has its own set of traffic problems.
He claimed the odd-even vehicle number formula has failed in big cities like Mexico City.
“We should have learnt from the experience of failed experiment and have prepared before implementing it giving just one-month lead time,” he added.
In a radical step to curb alarming air pollution, Delhi Government today restricted plying of private vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers to alternate days from January 1 in the national capital.
The measures were announced following an emergency meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a day after the Delhi High Court compared the city to a “gas chamber”.
PTI