Campaign to curb vehicular pollution: Will answer all queries, says Rai

Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday said the Delhi government will answer all questions raised by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on the "Red Light On, Gaadi Off" campaign and resubmit the file for his approval.

Earlier in the day, Saxena returned the file to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to reconsider the campaign. He questioned the effectiveness of such an "ad-hoc" measure as the national capital reels under high air pollution.

Addressing a press conference, Rai said, "We will give written answers to all queries raised by the LG and resubmit the file (for approval)... We hope that he will make a positive decision on the issue soon."

Rai accused Saxena of doing politics over an issue concerning the lives of residents of Delhi.

"The LG has returned the file, saying the Delhi government did not get a study conducted to ascertain the impact of the campaign over the last two years. We conducted the campaign in 2020 and 2021 after carefully studying all available information," he said.

The minister said a study conducted by the Central Road Research Institute showed that 9,036 litres of diesel, petrol and LPG and 5,461 kg of CNG is wasted at 950 traffic signals everyday in Delhi.

A study conducted by UrbanEmissions.info, an environmental research organisation, showed more than 17,000 tonnes of PM10 is emitted at traffic signals in Pune, Rai said.

"Delhi has four to five times the number of vehicles in Pune which means 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes of PM10 is emitted at traffic signals in Delhi," he said, adding the purpose to launch the campaign was to reduce this emission.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi had earlier attacked the LG, alleging that delay in approving the proposal had forced it to postpone the October 28 launch of the campaign. But sources in the LG office claimed that city Rai had lied as the file sent by the chief minister mentioned the date of launch as October 31.

"Now, the launch of the campaign on October 31, too, is unlikely," Rai said.

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.

The data from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) shows that if people switch off engines at traffic signals, pollution can be cut down by 15-20 per cent.

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.