Rai launches ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ drive

New Delhi: In a bid to control the rising pollution levels in Delhi, environment minister Gopal Rai launched the "Red Light On, Gaadi Off" campaign at the ITO intersection on Monday.
Urging drivers to turn off their vehicle engines while waiting at red lights, Rai stated that biomass burning, dust and vehicle emissions were the major sources of the city's air quality woes.
"It was observed that when someone drives in Delhi, they stop at eight to 10 red lights before reaching their destination. If they wait at an intersection for two 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," Rai said, adding that volunteers, resident welfare associations and concerned individuals have also been involved in this campaign.
"This is a campaign for the citizens of Delhi. While govt is making efforts to reduce pollution, public participation is equally crucial," Rai said.
The minister accused areas outside Delhi as the major reason behind the city's worsening air quality. He said that the sources of emissions outside Delhi were contributing twice to the pollution here compared to the local sources.
Rai said that Delhi govt has set up a green war room, launched an anti-dust campaign, and is spraying bio-decomposer over 5,000 acres to decompose stubble.
The "Red Light On, Gaadi Off" campaign is held every year. Last year, it started on Oct 26. Rai earlier claimed that vehicular pollution got reduced by 15-20% due to the campaign.
However, an RTI reply by Delhi Pollution Control Committee in Nov 2022 stated that it had no data or knowledge of any scientific study on its effectiveness.
RTI activist Amit Gupta sought details regarding the money spent in the past years to hold the campaign and to confirm if any "scientific study was conducted by Delhi govt or the environment department that showed its benefits."
In its reply, DPCC stated, "No such information and study related to the campaign is available with the DPCC Airlab."
While relaunching the campaign for this season, Rai claimed that while CNG and electric buses are used to reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi, thousands of diesel buses coming from Uttar Pradesh are spreading pollution in Anand Vihar.
He further said, "UP govt is urged to take steps to control pollution. Due to the efforts of Punjab govt, incidents of stubble burning have decreased, while govts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are not making the necessary efforts in this regard. Stubble burning continues to occur there."