The National Green Tribunal on Friday dismissed a review application filed by the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government that sought an exemption for two-wheelers in its odd-even vehicle rule, ANI reported. The scheme helps cut traffic by prohibiting cars and bikes from plying based on the last digit of their registration numbers – vehicles with odd digits ply on odd dates, and the others are allowed on even dates.

“The exemption to two-wheelers is against the spirit of the odd-even policy,” ANI quoted the tribunal as saying. The National Green Tribunal said that the exemption would go against the aim of the scheme as the Capital has around 60 lakh two-wheelers plying on its streets. “The two-wheelers carry fewer passengers and are more polluting since they subscribe to older emission norms,” the tribunal observed.

On December 4, the tribunal had censured the Delhi government for not filing an action plan on steps taken to curb air pollution, and had asked it to submit a reply within 24 hours. The Delhi government had then said the odd-even rule would be implemented without any exemptions if the pollution level touches the “severe” category.

The court specified that the rule was based on the Air Quality Index and not on any other factor. An air quality index in the range of 101 to 200 is considered moderate, 201 to 300 is poor, 301 to 400 is very poor and 401 to 500 is classified as severe. On December 14, the Central Pollution Control Board said the city’s Air Quality Index was in the “poor’ category”.