The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the National Green Tribunal’s order from 2017 that directed the Delhi government to make the odd-even vehicle rotation scheme also applicable to two-wheelers, PTI reported.

Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, who appeared for the government, told Justices Madan B Lokur and Dipak Gupta that it would be impossible to accommodate people in public transport if the odd-even scheme is made applicable for two-wheelers. Nadkarni said there were 68 lakh two-wheelers in Delhi.

In December, the National Green Tribunal dismissed a review application filed by the Aam Aadmi Party-led government seeking an exemption for two-wheelers. The National Green Tribunal had said the exemption would go against the scheme’s objective.

The odd-even vehicle system helps reduce traffic on the roads 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 scheme was implemented in an effort to reduce dense smog that envelopes the city during winter.