Odd-Even takes 'sadistic pleasure' robbing middle-class: Plea in SC

A petition filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday challenged the odd-even scheme of the Aam Aadmi Party government saying that the initiative takes sadistic pleasure by robbing the middle class of their right to earn a livelihood. The odd-even scheme is a traffic rationing measure which entails vehicles with even last digits on its number plate to run on even days and with odd last digits to run on odd days of the month. It is in force in Delhi from November 4 to 15.

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"This scheme takes sadistic pleasure by robbing the middle class of their right to drive to earn their livelihood by doing their jobs. It is nothing but a political gimmick for self-promotion and advertisement under the smokescreen of curbing pollution," the petition submitted. The plea stated that the scheme impedes a person's fundamental right to move freely in the country.

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Not happy with exemptions

The petitioner affirmed that the scheme discriminates on grounds of gender as women are exempted from it. The plea alleges that two-wheelers which cause the maximum pollution have been exempted from the scheme, while CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) vehicles are not. The AAP government had earlier clarified that the exemption of CNG vehicles would have caused congestion on the roads in a reply to a batch of petitions in the Delhi High Court. The city government also said that two-wheelers were exempted from the scheme as they constitute 66% of the total fleet in the national capital and if they were forced "off the road, it would have serious consequences on not just individual citizens but also on the public transport".

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Air remains poor

System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) on Thursday said that the air quality in Delhi remained in the "poor category" for the second consecutive day. The overall air quality index in the national capital has stood at 283 by 8:30 in the morning. The Center-run SAFAR recorded an AQI of 145 at Dhirpur, Mathura road recorded a figure of 309, IIT Delhi recorded 316, Airport Terminal 3 at 234, Lodhi Road at 153 and Pusa at 239.

(With ANI inputs)

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