Ahead of the odd-even curbs from April 15, the Delhi government said it plans to introduce exemption for cars having schoolchildren on board.
But exemption for women drivers will continue, as the Arvind Kejriwal government feels that women security is a looming concern in the Capital.
According to Transport Minister Gopal Rai, the government will issue a notification on the odd-even scheme 2.0 by Friday.
“Unlike the last time, schools will be open. This will be our biggest challenge,” Rai told a news conference here.
Nearly an hour before, his cabinet colleague and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Twitter had said cars carrying “student(s) in school uniforms” will be exempted from the odd-even scheme, banning private vehicles on alternate days.
But Rai caveated Sisodia’s statement with a reminder that certain things are still unknown. “While returning from schools, parents will not have their children with them. It is the practical difficulty we are facing, but we will work out a way,” Rai said.
He added that the final notification on second phase of odd-even scheme will have a detailed blueprint on exemption for parents ferrying their children to school.
The transport minister slammed a Delhi school for coming out with a circular, saying that the Delhi Transport Corporation will not ply buses for schools during the odd-even road-rationing period. The DTC-run school buses will continue ferrying schoolchildren on a precondition that it will ferry normal passengers from 8 am, he said.
DTC buses, which cater to schools, will make extra trips to handle the odd-even rush, Rai said.
Awareness campaign
Chief Minister Kejriwal will administer an oath to school-goers on April 12, according to him. A day later, schools have been asked to observe a “picnic for odd-even” – where kids will paint and design placards for creating awareness about the ambitious car curbs, keeping nearly 10 lakh private cars off the city roads.
Earlier on February 4, a DTC’s letter in a reversal to the government’s current position said: “This is to inform you that Govt of NCT of Delhi is planning to introduce next round of “Odd/Even Scheme” in near future. It is informed that in the event of such decision we may not be able to serve your school during the period of “Odd/Even Scheme”.
“You are, therefore, requested to make your own arrangement in this regard,” the letter sent to schools said. Over 80 schools avail DTC buses, according to Rai.
The Delhi government has so far been able to rope in 400 private buses under the DTC’s “Paryavaran Sewa”. The government had managed to add only 1,200 contract carriages to the Corporation’s fleet, despite promising 3,000 additional buses during the odd-even trail in January. Rai had then accused school administrations of conniving with the Opposition parties to foil the ambitious car curbs in Delhi.
A meeting of all MLAs and district magistrates has been called to discuss the scheme on Thursday. “On April 8, ex-servicemen, who have been hired by the enforcement wing of the transport department, will carry out a parade,” he said.