Odd-Even in Bengaluru if it works in Delhi: Home Minister

Karnataka will introduce the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme in Bengaluru if it proves to be a success in tackling air pollution in New Delhi, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said Saturday.

“If it works in Delhi, then we’ll ask our transport department to roll it out and also discuss it with the chief minister,” Reddy told reporters here.

The odd-even scheme, in which odd numbered cars have to ply on odd dates and even numbered cards on even dates, will come into effect for five days from Monday (November 13) in the national capital, where air pollution has reached alarming levels with thick smog engulfing the region.  The odd-even scheme was enforced in Delhi twice in the past - January and April.

Reddy, however, said the odd-even scheme alone may not suffice for a city like Bengaluru where the vehicle population has soared through the years. “In 2013, Bengaluru had 54 lakh vehicles. In four years, nearly 12 lakh vehicles have been added. Pollution cannot be tackled unless number of vehicles is reduced,” Reddy, who was earlier Karnataka’s transport minister, said.

Karnataka is also taking steps to widen arterial roads in Bengaluru to decongest traffic, Reddy said. “Sarjapur Road, Hennur main road and Bannerghatta Road will be widened based on the new Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) rules,” he said, citing examples of how road widening helped vehicular movement in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Reddy added that the problem of haphazard parking of vehicles on the streets can be addressed only if each house has space for vehicle parking. “There’s a law to this effect that house owners should be responsible for parking vehicles, but the rate of violation is very high,” he said.