It was a manic Monday in Delhi as protests by a section of taxi operators against the Supreme Court-directed ban on non-CNG taxis in the city, led to long traffic jams. With commuters facing a harrowing time and in the wake of the massive protests by taxi operators, the Centre on Monday decided to request the apex court to reconsider the ban.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete went into an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis, since the ban created an unprecedented situation, with nearly 30,000 cabs getting off the roads and the taxi drivers blocking NH8 and various other arterial roads of the Capital.
Office-goers and schoolchildren were the worst-hit as they were stuck in massive traffic snarls for a long time in the sweltering heat.
According to the Delhi Traffic Police, cabbies blocked both carriageways on Rajokri flyover on the Gurgaon-Dhaula Kuan Road and the Ring Road stretch at Maharani Bagh. This led to long tailbacks in Sarai Kale Khan, Ashram, near PGDAV College in Nehru Nagar, lajpat Nagar, South Extension and AIIMS.
It was only a matter of time before traffic was thrown out of gear in Dhaula Kuan, Kapashera and Mehrauli as well, and the chaos continued for hours. With people taking alternative routes, several stretches, including lala lajpat Rai Marg, Defence Colony and Mathura Road, also got clogged within an hour, officials said.
A traffic official said there was a jam on the Delhi Noida Direct Flyway, which was cleared with help of police.
Briefing the Press after the emergency meeting with Javadekar and Geete, Gadkari said, “We have decided to request the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision in view of initiatives taken by the Government of India to reduce pollution in Delhi in the last two years. These measures will be properly presented to the apex court in letter and spirit.
“In order to promote cleaner vehicles, incentives are being given to buyers of hybrid and electric vehicles. Besides, the Bharat Standard VI norms will also be implemented by 2020 which would help clean the air. The Environment Ministry, Heavy Industries Ministry and Roads Ministry together will coordinate to help reduce Delhi-NCR vehicular pollution.”
The Ministers decided that the Centre will apprise the SC of plans for Delhi’s decongestion with eight arterial roads, concept note on scrapping policy, e-tolling on national highways, e-rickshaw policy to reduce pollution and proposal to formulate short-term and long-term action plans for control of air pollution by NCR States.
The Centre will also apprise the court that a study by IIT Kanpur has suggested that vehicular pollution is not the only cause of pollution in Delhi and contributes only 9 per cent in summer and 19 per cent in winter.
Sources said the Ministers also took note of the fact that the ban resulted in immediate loss of jobs to thousands of people and posed serious commuting problems to working men and women in the NCR. “Many establishments in Delhi-NCR, particularly in IT and the BPO sector which have late working hours, too discussed that non-availability of safe transport facilities will directly pose a security threat to these working men and women. Due to the ban, major companies in Delhi-NCR have decided not to provide any transport to their employees,” Ministry sources said.
Meanwhile, taxi operators, including those who run taxis with all-India permit, said they would continue the protest till the harsh decision against them is rolled back.
Rajendra Soni, general secretary of Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union said, “As many as 27,000 diesel taxis will be stopped from plying. Who will compensate these poor drivers who spent their hard-earned money to buy those vehicles and even took loans from banksIJ Despite the SC order of 1997-98 that said no commercial diesel vehicles would be allowed to ply in the city, the transport department kept issuing permits in collusion with vehicle manufacturers. The Government is indifferent to the plight of taxi drivers and operators. So we have made an appeal to all the taxi drivers and operators to conduct peaceful protests within the purview of the law.”
Representatives of National Association of Software and Services Companies also visited the Delhi Police Headquarter to meet Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sandeep Goel claiming that thousands of employees working in BPOs and other IT firms will suffer as cabs are used to ferry them to and from work, especially at night.
The traffic police officials, however, told them that since the diesel cabs have been banned by the SC order, it was only the court that could provide them with any relief.