The choice was made because the Supreme Court suggested that the Delhi government think about prohibiting app-based taxis in the city to help tackle air pollution.
The Delhi government has decided to ban app-based taxi services in the city. This means that only taxis registered in Delhi can operate in the city. The decision came after the Supreme Court suggested that banning app-based taxis could help control air pollution in the national capital.
The government had previously introduced a plan to limit the number of vehicles on the road to address the ongoing pollution problem. However, the court called this plan “optics” and questioned its effectiveness and whether it had successfully reduced the high levels of pollution in the national capital in the past.
The court asked if the odd-even scheme had been effective in the past and remarked, “These are all optics.” The highest court told the government to find other ways to reduce pollution from vehicles.
During a meeting following the court’s rules, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai stated, “We held a meeting today with officials from the traffic police, transport, and environment departments where how to implement the odd-even scheme was discussed. However, we will make any further strategies or announcements only after we have carefully studied the SC order.”
On Wednesday, Delhi’s pollution levels worsened, returning to the ‘severe’ category just a day after a slight improvement in air quality. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed that Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was 395 on Tuesday, showing a small improvement from the 421 recorded on Monday.
To put it in perspective, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory,’ 101 to 200 is ‘moderate,’ 201 to 300 is ‘poor,’ 301 to 400 is ‘very poor,’ and 401 to 500 is ‘severe.’
