New Delhi, October 31
The Delhi Government has resent the file of its ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ campaign to Lt Governor V K Saxena for consideration, sources said on Monday.
The move comes days after the LG asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to reconsider the campaign, questioning the effectiveness of such an “ad-hoc” measure as Delhi reels under high air pollution levels.
The month-long ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ campaign aims at encouraging drivers to turn off the ignition of their vehicles while waiting at traffic signals.
“We have resent the file for LG’s consideration. The government has sent ample amount of evidence that highlight the favourable results of the campaign. Similar campaigns have been run across 40 cities in the country.
“Even America and London have run such campaigns. According to CRRI, only 20 per cent commuters turn off the ignition at the traffic signal but it was found that during the campaign, 80 per cent people tuned off the ignition at a signal,” a source said.
Under the campaign, first launched on October 16, 2020, to cut down vehicular pollution in the capital, drivers are encouraged to switch off their vehicles while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai had on Saturday said the Delhi government will answer all questions raised by the L-G on the campaign and resubmit the file for his approval.
He had also accused the LG of doing politics over an issue concerning the lives of the residents of Delhi.
The LG had highlighted that the “outcome” of the previous campaigns were not reflected in the proposal and there is no impact assessment report provided to support the effectiveness of the earlier campaigns in improving air quality in the city.