A fresh PIL challenging the AAP government's odd-even scheme was today moved before Delhi High Court which listed the matter for hearing tomorrow along with several other petitions that have been filed on the issue.
The Delhi government's temporary initiative to check alarming air pollution has come under fire from the day it was announced and the latest petition too has sought quashing of the administration's December 28, 2015, notification bringing the scheme into force for 15 days from January 1.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath listed the petition for hearing along with the other PILs filed against the scheme.
Some of the PILs have challenged the entire scheme as being "arbitrary" or "ill-conceived", while others are against certain portions of it, like the exemptions given to women drivers and two-wheelers.
There are some PILs seeking inclusion of certain categories like lawyers in the list of exempted persons and some which have questioned whether the government has the power to modify vehicular movement in the national capital.
The vehicles exempted from odd-even scheme include those of the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Union Ministers and Governors and Chief Ministers of states and Union Territories "except that of Delhi".
Besides, women drivers, CNG-certified vehicles, VIPs, two -wheelers, ambulances, defence vehicles and embassy vehicles have also been kept out of the purview of the scheme.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said while announcing the scheme that he and his cavalcade will not avail the exemption offered to the VIPs.
The latest petition by Delhi resident B Badrinath claims that the city government's scheme violates his fundamental rights--equality, freedom of movement and right to practise any profession or occupation--guaranteed under the Constitution.
Badrinath has questioned the reason for allowing plying
of non-transport vehicles running on petrol and diesel as well as two-wheelers everyday, irrespective of their registration number, when private vehicles are being permitted to run on city roads only on alternate days based on their odd and even number plates.
The PIL has alleged that the public transport system in place was insufficient to handle the huge volume of people who would not be using their personal vehicles as per the scheme.
The high court had on December 30, 2015, while hearing a with a PIL against the exemption granted to women and two-wheelers asked the Delhi government to clarify the reason behind it.
The petition filed by Karuna Chhatwal has contended that two wheelers emit pollutants and account for almost 60 per cent of air pollution while cars constitute a part of the remaining air pollution.
She has said in her plea that the scheme was introduced to control air pollution and exempting women drivers will defeat the very objective.
The high court will tomorrow hear eight PILs filed by different individuals against the AAP government's odd-even scheme.
