To curb the worsening air quality in the national capital, the Delhi government has announced that it will enforce the ‘odd-even’ rule for cars immediately after Diwali, between November 13 and 20, 2023. The scheme will limit the number of privately owned cars on the roads by allowing vehicles with license plates ending in an odd digit to ply on odd dates, and those ending with an even digit to ply on even dates. 

1. Private petrol and diesel cars will have to follow odd-even rule
2. Cars running on CNG and EVs are exempt

While all privately owned cars will fall under the ambit of the scheme, certain vehicle categories will remain exempted. Cars running on CNG, as well as electric vehicles (EVs), are likely to remain exempt from the week-long odd-even scheme, which aims to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.

The odd-even scheme was first implemented in the national capital in 2016 and was later invoked in 2017 and 2019, as a temporary traffic rationing measure to address the issue of air pollution in the city, which is often aggravated during the winter months. The basic idea behind the scheme is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

On November 5, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) implemented Stage 4 of the GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) – in response to the persistent Severe+ AQI in Delhi over the last few days. The plan bans entry of all heavy trucks into the national capital, along with BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel cars.