The odd-even car rule enforced by the Aam Aadmi Party government to curb pollution in the national capital will continue till 15 January, the Delhi High Court said on Monday.
"We will not intervene with the Notification. However the Respondents are directed to take into account the contentions raised in the writ petitions," Bar and Bench quoted the HC as saying.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath had, on 6 January, heard several petitions challenging the scheme on the claims that it was causing inconvenience to the commuters. It reserved its verdict in the case on 8 January.
Some other petitioners had also raised objection to the exemptions granted to women and two-wheeler drivers and the High Court has now fixed 15 February as the next date of hearing on the petitions.
Next date of hearing in Delhi HC is February 15. #OddEvenFormula
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 11, 2016
The HC had, on Wednesday, asked the government if it could end the trial on Friday and also sought a report on the pollution level in Delhi since the odd-even rule was brought into force.
On Friday, the AAP sought more time from the court to evaluate the odd-even scheme's impact on the environment.
The Arvind Kejriwal-government has claimed a major drop in pollution caused by vehicular traffic since the implementation of the scheme.
"More than 50 percent drop in air pollution primarily caused by vehicular traffic has been recorded according to the latest ambient air data collected by mobile teams of Delhi Pollution Control Committee on Saturday at 18 locations, through mobile dust samplers on using the light scattering technique," the government said in a statement, according to IANS report.
The Delhi government enforced the new traffic rules under which private four-wheelers with odd and even-numbered plates are allowed to ply only on odd and even-numbered dates respectively. It was meant to bring down vehicular pollution in Delhi as it was reported to be one of the most polluted cities in India.
