New Delhi, October 27
Setting the stage for a fresh confrontation with the lieutenant governor, the AAP dispensation in Delhi on Thursday said it is postponing the launch of the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign as the LG’s office is yet to approve it.
Addressing a press conference here, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the file on the campaign was sent to LG V K Saxena on October 21. The LG has the time to write letters to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal every day but doesn’t have the time to sign crucial files, he claimed.
Kejriwal has alleged that his government’s efforts to curb pollution are being stopped due to “dirty politics”.
The month-long ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign, which was to be launched on Friday, aims to encourage drivers to turn off the ignition of their vehicles while waiting for the traffic signal to turn green.
“The ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign has been successful in previous years. The month-long campaign was set to be launched tomorrow for this year but no approval has been received so far (from the LG’s office) and it has to be postponed.
“It is very unfortunate. The file was sent to the LG on October 21 but he has not approved it yet,” Rai said.
The campaign to control pollution was successfully carried out in October 2020 and in 2021, he said.
The Delhi government first launched the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign on October 16, 2020.
According to Petroleum Conservation Research Association data, a person unnecessarily burns fuel for 25 to 30 minutes while waiting at traffic signals. If vehicle engines are turned off when the traffic signal is red, then vehicular pollution will be reduced by 15 to 20 per cent, Rai said.
“We run an awareness campaign at 100 intersections in the city in which 2,500 civil defence volunteers tell people about the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign through ‘Gandhigiri’. This year, we had planned to start this campaign on October 28,” he said.
“He (LG) has the time for other work, he writes letters to the CM every day. He might have no idea that the pollution level is increasing in the national capital. He is seeing everything on TV and newspapers, he lives in the same city… but he doesn’t have the time to sign the file,” he added.
According to government estimates, the transport sector accounts for 28 per cent of the PM2.5 emissions in Delhi.
PM2.5 are fine particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter and can travel deep into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs and entering the bloodstream.
In a tweet, Kejriwal said it’s “really very sad” that the Delhi government’s efforts to curb pollution are being stopped due to “dirty politics”.
The ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign, he said, has played a crucial role in reducing pollution in Delhi over the years.
“Let’s not play wid (with) the health of the people,” he added.
The vehicular contribution also makes up 80 per cent of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in Delhi’s air, according to government estimates.
