No Extension of Odd-Even Scheme for Now, Will Take Final Call on Monday Based on Wind Speed: Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: There is no immediate extension of the odd-even plan in the national capital and a final decision on extending the car-rationing scheme will be taken on Monday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday. The odd-even scheme, kicked off on November 4 to curb alarming levels of air pollution, will end on Friday.

“There is no extension of odd-even for now. We are watching the situation. If there is improvement in wind speed, there will be no odd-even. The government will take a final call on Monday after monitoring the situation for two more days,” the CM said at a press meet.

Kejriwal once again pointed fingers at the stubble burning incidences in the neighbouring states and said, "There is a direct correlation between the two (stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana and pollution in Delhi). I am not shirking my responsibilities, I will also deal with the sources of burning more strictly."

He further confirmed that the government has submitted the Air Quality Index (AQI) data since the day the scheme was submitted to the Supreme Court in response to a PIL against the car-rationing scheme.

Delhi suffered the fifth straight smog-cloaked morning, with the air quality plummeting to ‘severe-plus’ levels in several areas. At 7 am, the air quality in several areas of Delhi-NCR, including Pusa Road (777), Dwarka Sector 8 (930), Pragati Vihar (733), Anand Vihar (535), Noida Sector 125 (665), Noida Sector 62 (538), US Embassy in Chanakyapuri (660), Jahagirpuri (610), Narela (808), Bawana (865), Okhla (722), Satyawati College in Ashok Vihar (757), Sonia Vihar (565), Alipur (644), Sri Aurobindo Marg (733), Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business in Rohini (765) and Patparganj (571) crossed the ‘severe-plus’ category.

The national capital had seen relatively clearer days when the third installment of the odd-even scheme was kicked off on November 4 in view of hazardous pollution from Diwali crackers and stubble-burning in neighbouring states. But the air quality deteriorated this week, leading to a debate on whether the scheme should be extended.

The opposition BJP has dubbed the scheme an “election stunt” by the AAP government in view of the assembly elections early next year. Blaming stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana for the pollution, Kejriwal has appealed to the BJP to cooperate.