In order to tackle the increasing pollution during the stubble burning in winters, the Delhi Government is planning to implement staggering office hours to combat heavy traffic congestion and curb the pollution.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday met OP Aggarwal, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of World Resources Institute (WRI) to discuss the issue.
Besides, re-launching of 'odd-even scheme' in Delhi, the Government has come up with a seven-point 'Parali Pollution Action Plan' to curb pollution especially during winters. Some of the steps included a free laser show for the people on Diwali, mechanised sweeping system, free distribution of face masks, a tree plantation drive and launching a separate action plan for 12 critical pollution hub spots in Delhi.
"The Delhi Government is taking all possible steps to prepare for the onset of the parali ( paddy straw) and winter season. We have already announced an action plan for tackling the situation. In addition, we are also pursuing the idea of staggering office hours to cut down on vehicular emissions due to congestion. This is a tried and tested method used around the world," said Kejriwal.
"Delhi has multiple choke points that are congested because they are on routes to offices where a large number of people travel every day. We will identify such points and routes and explore possibilities of staggering hours for those who use such arterial routes," he added.
According to officials, the CM asked OP Aggarwal to devise a plan for staggering office timings for the government departments.
"The Chief Minister asked OP Aggarwal on how the state government can effectively stagger office timings to tackle the problems of traffic congestion and air pollution in the city. Kejriwal also expressed his desire to bring industry associations on board since several industrial areas can also implement the staggered hours plan," said the official.
"Congestion has been a long-standing problem in Delhi that needs to be addressed with the right methodology. The Delhi government has been contemplating ways to ensure that the problem is addressed with a consideration of the timings of schools and offices and with ways like the odd-even scheme for better transportation and smooth traffic inflow. Further, suggestions from various institutions have been asked to study the feasibility of the timings of public and private industrial entities," said the official.
"Delhi has natural organic staggered timing system of various departments and sections. The domestic operations, such as milk and newspapers delivery start at 6 AM, schools start at 8 AM, central government offices start at 9 AM, and Delhi government offices start at 10 AM. In Delhi-NCR the evening congestion starts from 2PM with the closing of schools, and successively till 6-7 PM with the closing of public and private offices.
I believe that steps should be taken in the direction to solve the congestion problem in Delhi because various government structures here are situated at one location which creates heavy traffic and road blockade," said Aggarwal.
World Resources Institute (WRI) has been associated with the Delhi government in several route rationalization initiatives among others, including aiding the government design staggering of office timings during the odd-even scheme.