‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ comes back to Delhi; to start from October 26

As the overall air quality index of the national capital deteriorates, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has announced that the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign will make a comeback from October 26. Like the previous editions, the campaign aims to reduce air pollution in the city by encouraging commuters to turn off their engines when waiting at red lights.

The campaign was first launched in 2020 to reduce vehicular pollution as part of the15-point action plan to curb air pollution in the winter season across the city. A PTI report earlier informed that based on government estimates, the transport sector is responsible for 28 per cent of the PM2.5 emissions in the city. The vehicular contribution also makes up 80 per cent of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in Delhi's air.

The report also quoted data from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), which shows that if people switch off engines at traffic signals, pollution can be cut down by 13 to 20 per cent.

Rai also informed that the odd-even vehicle rationing system is not being considered at the moment. Under the scheme, private vehicles with registration plates ending in odd numbers ply in the capital on odd dates while those with even numbers ply on even dates.

The Environment ministry has put into force the phase two of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to tackle "very poor" air quality of the city. Special teams will be deputed to identify and inspect local sources of pollution to that the government can work on the root cause of the issue.

The overall air quality in the national capital on Monday morning was recorded in the 'Very Poor category', with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 306 against 302 recorded on Sunday afternoon, as per SAFAR-India.