'Red Light on-Gaadi off' campaign against pollution commences in Delhi

Kicking off the campaign at ITO intersection, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai appealed to drivers to help reduce pollution by turning off their vehicle engines at red light

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi is taking measures to tackle the escalating pollution crisis and in this effort, Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai launched the "Red Light On-Gaadi Off" campaign on Monday.

Kicking off the campaign at the ITO intersection, the Delhi Environment Minister appealed to drivers to help reduce pollution by turning off their vehicle engines at red light.

According to a press release from the Office of the Environment Minister of Government of NCT of Delhi, Gopal Rai stated that the main causes of Delhi's rising pollution are biomass burning, dust, and vehicle emissions. To address this, the "Red Light On - Gaadi Off" campaign has been launched. He added that while Punjab has reduced stubble burning, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have not taken adequate action, and incidents continue there, forcing Delhiites to suffer.

The Environment Minister said, "In the last few years, due to the hard work of Delhiites and the concerned departments, pollution levels have decreased by about 34.6 percent. Delhi is once again ready in this fight against pollution."

Minister Gopal Rai stated that the Delhi government has set up a green war room to combat pollution, launched an anti-dust campaign to control dust pollution, and is spraying bio-decomposer over 5,000 acres to decompose stubble. As part of these efforts, the 'Red Light On - Gaadi Off' campaign is now being introduced.

The Delhi Minister stated that the people of Delhi have to endure not only the pollution within the city but also pollution coming from outside, effectively doubling the city's pollution levels. He said, "In Delhi, we are running CNG and electric buses to reduce vehicular pollution, while on the other hand, thousands of diesel buses coming from Uttar Pradesh are spreading pollution in Anand Vihar."

He further said, "The Uttar Pradesh government is urged to take steps to control pollution. Due to the efforts of the Punjab government, incidents of stubble burning have decreased, while the governments of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are not making the necessary efforts in this regard, and stubble burning continues to occur there."

Minister Gopal Rai said, "It has been observed that when someone drives in Delhi, they stop at around 8 to 10 red lights before reaching their destination. If they wait at an intersection for 2 minutes without switching off their vehicle, they waste 25 to 30 minutes' worth of fuel unnecessarily. This mindset needs to change. Our entire campaign aims to encourage people to make switching off their vehicles at red lights a habit."

The Environment Minister concluded by stating that "Environment volunteers, RWAs, and individuals concerned with the environment have also been involved in this campaign. This is a campaign for the citizens of Delhi. While the government is making efforts to reduce pollution, public participation is equally crucial."

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has ordered the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-II) in Delhi-NCR on Monday after the overall Air Quality Index dropped to 'Very Poor' category in the region.

With Stage II of GRAP coming into force, an 11-point action plan is applicable with immediate effect in the entire NCR, in addition to all Stage-I actions of GRAP already in force.