Delhi Govt resubmits campaign file for L-G’s approval

New Delhi, October 31

The Delhi Government on Monday resent the “Red light on, gaadi off” campaign file to Delhi L-G VK Saxena days after he returned it citing lack of merit in the matter.

The AAP government said it had sought fresh approval from the L-G citing global merits of the initiative.Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “In view of the increasing level of pollution in Delhi, the L-G should immediately approve the ‘Red light on, gaadi off’ campaign. The L-G had claimed that there was no evidence of merits of this campaign and the government has now sent a bunch of evidence to him. Such campaigns have been running in 40 cities of India and similar campaigns are also running in America and London.”

Curbing Pollution

• Under the campaign, first launched on October 16, 2020, to cut down vehicular pollution in the national capital, drivers are encouraged to switch off their vehicles while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
• According to government estimates, the transport sector accounts for 28 per cent of the PM2.5 emissions in Delhi.
• Vehicular contribution also makes up 80 per cent of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in Delhi’s air.

The state government said according to the Central Road Research Institute, only 20 per cent of people turned their cars off at lights earlier, whereas 80 per cent of people turned their cars off when this campaign was on.

Rai said, “With a change in weather, there is a rise in pollution level. Besides fall in the temperature after November 1, the wind will blow at a speed of 4-8 kmph. Keeping this in mind, the phase III of GRAP has been enforced in Delhi as per which, the construction and demolition have been prohibited. Besides other measures, the 15-point Winter Action Plan, announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to keep pollution in check, are being implemented. We are spraying bio-decomposer to decompose stubble. We have also formed teams to tighten a noose on dust pollution.”

The minister said on October 29, the Delhi L-G halted the ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ campaign which was run every year to curb vehicle pollution. “The L-G returned the file and his primary contention was that there are no figures to show that turning off vehicles on red light results in the reduction of pollution in Delhi. There has been no such research experiment in any other city of the country or anywhere in the world. We decided that we will submit our answers to these questions to the L-G again.”

The Delhi Government re-submitted the file to L-G with answers to questions and requested him to give permission for this campaign, given the emergency situation in Delhi, the minister added. He said when the plan was conceptualised for the first time in 2020, it was done on the basis of several studies conducted across India. In 2019, scientists of the CSIR and the Central Road Research Institute conducted a study on petroleum conservation.

“As per that study, if the vehicle engine is not shut on a red light at a particular four-way, there is an increase of pollution level by 9 per cent on that four-way,” said Rai.

He said another study was conducted in Delhi on Bhikaji Cama four-way.