“There is no data to suggest that the Odd-Even 2 scheme has led to a decline in vehicular pollution in the national capital, central pollution control board said” reports a leading daily. Is there any statement clearer to this which proves that Odd-Even 2 scheme has failed to reach its objective?
The report by CPCB came after NGT asked CPCB to independently monitor and record the data of ambient air quality in Delhi during the ongoing Odd-Even 2 scheme. According to the data provided by CPCB during odd even days, the pollution levels were much higher than the pre-period and the post-period.
Though we can’t expect the sanity prevailing in Delhi Government for an immediate rollback of the scheme, we must analyse the beneficiaries and losers out of this failed experiment.
Let’s talk about beneficiaries first:
- Arvind Kejriwal -The biggest beneficiary out of this scheme was Kejriwal himself. He was included as the only Indian leader on Fortune’s list of 50 greatest leaders. He was selected for his efforts towards curbing air pollution in Delhi by his government’s ‘odd-even’ road-space rationing scheme. Who doesn’t love free publicity? The twitter army of Aam Aadmi Party spearheaded by Ashutosh and other leadership team tweeted and retweeted the news applauding Kejriwal as the most visionary leader of India. No one will dig the pollution records and the boring analysis of pollution boards and it will be inked in public memory as one great effort by the lone warrior to rescue Delhi from pollution
- Infamous auto-drivers : The other beneficiaries are auto-drivers (the solid vote bank of Aam Aadmi Party) of Delhi. Anyone who has travelled in Delhi by Auto must have experienced the refusal of auto-drivers for going by meters. It is a regular plight even on ordinary days. Imagine the extent of refusal during such period.
- Commercial vehicles: Limited metro connectivity, unsafe autos and overcrowded buses have pushed common office goers to commute through taxis. One’s pain is other’s gain. Taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber got the opportunity to push more vehicles on the road for catering the huge demand. It was a free advertisement for them which they encashed by both hands. Moreover, the sight of ola and uber drivers meaninglessly standing on the road and endlessly roaming for passengers are very common. It all got compounded due to the larger number of taxis.
Who had suffered ?
- The common taxpayers of India: The biggest political card which Delhi govt played in this scheme is that they exempted 25 categories of vehicles which meant that 7.4 million vehicles were allowed to ply on Delhi roads irrespective of the day while only 0.5 million vehicles could be kept off roads. Most of the vehicles which came under the ambit are of regular office goers. The scheme increased their woes by shelving off more money out of their pocket for commuting.
- The senior citizens: The vulnerable section of society was left on their own during this scheme. For an elderly person, to shift to public transportation is not just a small inconvenience but a significant lifestyle change and additional expenditure. Moreover, due to the limited technological familiarity, many of them can’t call a cab from their smartphone.
When Arvind Kejriwal had come up with his weird proposal of Odd-Even 2 scheme in Delhi, he was vehemently supported by the cartel of intellectuals. His initiative was lauded in the editorials as being a brave, bold and “out of box” to curb the alarming level of pollution. This was directly linked to adverse health consequences and even the fatality.
The same policy can’t be justified or mooted to reduce traffic congestion -but Kejriwal is doing exactly that which is not only whimsy but also unethical.