Gopal Rai on Thursday had claimed in a press conference that the campaign was to be rolled out on October 28, however, it was being postponed as the approval was due from the L-G's office. He added that the file was sent on October 21 for approval.

New Delhi Jan 27 PTI The Delhi government spent Rs 1046 crore on advertisements related to the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign to reduce vehicular pollution over the last two years according to data obtained through an RTI applicationUnder the campaign launched on October 16 2020 drivers are encouraged to switch off their vehicles while waiting for the traffic light to turn greenThe Delhi government spent Rs 1046 crore on advertisements related to the campaign in the year 2020-21 according to the reply to an RTI application filed by social activist Amit GuptaThe city governments advertising agency Shabdarth said it did not incur any expenses on ads pertaining to the drive in the year 2021-22It added that the government has spent Rs 1306 crore on pollution-related advertisements in the financial year2021-22 so farAs part of the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign the environment department deploys civil defence volunteers at major traffic junctions in the city who ensure the commuters kill the engine while waiting at traffic signals and also hand out pamphlets carrying information on vehicular pollution The department deployed around 2500 civil defence volunteers in two shifts of 8 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 8 pm at 100 traffic junctions in the latest leg of the campaign from October 18 to December 18 last yearThe government pays Rs 700 a day to every volunteeraccording to officialsData from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association PCRA shows that if people switch off engines at traffic signals pollution can be cut down by 13-20 per cent As per government estimates the transport sector accounts for 28 per cent of the PM25 emissions in Delhi Vehicular contribution also makes up 80 per cent of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in Delhis airA total of 133 crore vehicles are registered in Delhi currently The count of vehicles in thenational capital more than doubled to 643 per thousand population in 2019-20 from 317 in 2005-06PTI GVS SRY

New Delhi Nov 29 PTI Delhi recorded a marginal improvement in air quality on Monday -- air pollution levels receded from severe to very poor -- due to favourable wind speed authorities said The 24-hour average air quality index AQI read 389 The city had recorded severe air quality for three days on the trot Neighbouring Faridabad 276 Ghaziabad 365 Greater Noida 350 Gurgaon 395 and Noida 356 also saw a marginal improvement in air quality An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severe The India Meteorological Department said favourable wind speed up to 15 kmph aided dispersion of pollutants during the afternoon Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 103 degrees Celsius The maximum temperature settled around 261 degrees Celsius According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality monitor SAFAR favourable local surface wind speed on Tuesday is likely to bring slight relief Earlier in the day Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi will continue till further orders in view of the high air pollution levels The ban on the entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services will continue till December 7 while CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi Rai said after a review meeting with officials of departments concerned He said the governments Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign to curb vehicular pollution is being extended till December 18 Physical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions resumed and government offices reopened from Monday PTI GVS SMN SMN

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI Delhis councilors Monday gathered at the Barakhamba Road Crossing and encouraged people to join the city governments Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign to reduce vehicular pollutionEnvironment Minister Gopal Rai who led the councilors said people from entire Delhi are contributing to this campaign to curb pollution generated inside the cityRecently MLAs from the Aam Aadmi Party took part in this campaign and today the councillors have taken the initiative ahead We have decided that we will take this campaign forward through public participation in all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies he saidOn October 18 the Delhi government had launched the month-long Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign under which people are encouraged to switch off their vehicles at traffic signalsData from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association PCRA shows that if people switch off engines at red traffic signals pollution can be cut down by 13-20 per cent Rai said PTI GVS TIR TIR

New Delhi Oct 24 PTI All the councillors will gather at the Barakhamba Road intersection here on October 25 to spread awareness among people about the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign to reduce vehicular pollution Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on SundayThe Delhi government had on October 18 launched the Red Light On Gaadi Off initiative with an aim to cut down on vehicular emissions The campaign will continue for a month till November 18To reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi all councillors of Delhi will sensitise and appeal to people about keeping engines of their vehicles off at red lights under Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign tomorrow on October 25 at Barakhamba Road intersection Rai said in a tweetAs many as 2500 civil defence volunteers have been deployed in two shifts of 8 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 8 pm across 100 traffic junctions in the city for the campaignRai also said a crucial meeting to discuss strategy about cracking down on illegal sale and hoarding of crackers will also be held on MondayTo control pollution due to fire crackers on Diwali a crucial meeting will be conducted with Delhi Police on October 25 Monday on the issue of fire crackers Rai said The Delhi government has banned crackers in Delhi and had already directed all SDMs to launch anti-cracker campaign in the city In the campaign they will also be able to take action against illegal sale and purchase of fire crackers PTI AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Oct 22 PTI To give further impetus to the city governments fight against pollution all sub-divisional magistrates SDMs have been directed to initiate an anti-cracker campaign in the city ahead of Diwali Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on FridayHe said all 33 SDMs will also engage with RWAs market associations and NGOs in their respective areas on October 28 and 29 to seek their participation in the fight against pollution and spread awareness about the governments efforts to reduce pollutionHe said the Delhi government has banned crackers in the city but there are still complaints that sale and purchase of crackers is happeningWe have directed all SDMs to launch an anti-cracker campaign in the city Along with police they will also be able to take action against sale and purchase of crackers We will also hold a meeting with the Delhi Police in this connection on October 25 Rai saidHe said SDMs have been told not to trouble the general public but only crack down on sale and purchase of crackersRai appealed to people to report any illegal marketing or usage of crackers on the Green Delhi AppBesides SDMs have also been tasked with the public participation in the fight against pollution by holding mass awareness campaigns he saidIn their meeting with RWAs NGOs and market associations SDMs will also sensitise public about the Delhi governments winter action plan and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals three appeals to people in the fight against pollutionKejriwal had last week appealed people to actively participate in Red Light On Gadi Off campaign and also avoid using their cars at least for one day in a weekHe had also appealed to Delhiites to report any case of violation of pollution norms on the Green Delhi appIn Delhi we have launched Green Delhi app Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign anti-dust drive spraying of bio-decomposer to battle pollution The fight against pollution can be made successful only with the help of public participation Rai said Later in a statement the minister said meetings held by SDMs will provide all participants RWAs with the target of holding awareness meetings in their respective localities on October 31 A specific template is to be followed which include discussion on pollution caused by burning of waste dust vehicular pollution and the requirement of PUC certificates to keep their emissions in check the statement said PTI AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Oct 22 PTI To give further impetus to the city governments fight against pollution all sub-divisional magistrates SDMs have been directed to initiate an anti-cracker campaign in the city ahead of Diwali Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday He said all 33 SDMs will also engage with RWAs market associations and NGOs in their respective areas on October 28 and 29 to seek their participation in the fight against pollution and spread awareness about the governments efforts to reduce pollution He said the Delhi government has banned crackers in the city but there are still complaints that sale and purchase of crackers is happening We have directed all SDMs to launch an anti-cracker campaign in the city Along with police they will also be able to take action against sale and purchase of crackers We will also hold a meeting with the Delhi Police in this connection on October 25 Rai said He said SDMs have been told not to trouble the general public but only crack down on sale and purchase of crackers Besides SDMs have also been tasked with the public participation in the fight against pollution by holding mass awareness campaigns he said In their meeting with RWAs NGOs and market associations SDMs will also sensitise public about the Delhi governments winter action plan and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals three appeals to people in the fight against pollution Kejriwal had last week appealed people to actively participate in Red Light On Gadi Off campaign and also avoid using their cars at least for one day in a week He had also appealed to Delhiites to report any case of violation of pollution norms on the Green Delhi app In Delhi we have launched Green Delhi app Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign anti-dust drive spraying of bio-decomposer to battle pollution the fight against pollution can be made successful only with the help of public participation Rai said PTI AKM HDA

New Delhi Oct 21 PTI Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said the Delhi government will implement all measures to control pollution in the national capital and it will also put in place steps under the Graded Response Action Plan GRAP if the need arisesThe GRAP is a set of emergency measures to be taken to reduce air pollution depending on the level of pollution in Delhi-NCRRai also urged the Centre to talk to states and work on putting an end to stubble burningHe was speaking at an event at the Chandgi Ram Akhara where all the MLAs had gathered to raise awareness about the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaignAfter this on October 25 the councillors of Delhi will run a public awareness campaign on the Barakhamba RoadDue to rains the pollution levels had gone down in Delhi since stubble burning had stopped in neighbouring areas But after the sun has come out the instances of stubble burning will increase We are taking all steps to reduce pollution in Delhi and running various campaigns to encourage peoples participation he told reportersThe minister said they will be holding a meeting with the SDMs and scientists of Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCC on Friday to discuss how to make this a wider campaignThis campaign will be taken ahead to the Mohalla level In the meeting tomorrow based on the decision taken we will take up the scale of the campaign to a higher level he addedRai said BJP MLAs were also invited to be part of the eventAam Aadmi Party MLAs are present here but MLAs of other parties have not come Information about the event was given to all of them The government is emphasising on public participation and is running other campaigns including the anti-dust campaign Increasing the participation of people in this fight will reduce their share in pollution as well the minister saidWhen questioned about the implementation of GRAP to control pollution he said The pollution due to stubble burning cannot be controlled by implementing GRAP We had urged the Centre and states to spray PUSA bio-decomposer a microbial solution that can turn stubble into manure in 15 to 20 days to prevent stubble burning If it was sprayed responsibly farmers would not have had to indulge in stubble burning Rai said the government is also working to control dust pollution and vehicular pollutionIf the need arises we will bring in GRAP Whatever needs to be done we will do to control pollution in Delhi But I pray to the Centre with folded hands to work towards stopping stubble burning Otherwise despite the efforts of Delhiites they will have to face pollution due to stubble burning he said PTI SLB TDS TDS

New Delhi Oct 21 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the government will implement all measures to control pollution in the national capital and it will also put in place steps under the Graded Response Action Plan GRAP if the need arises The GRAP is a set of emergency measures to be taken to reduce air pollution depending on the level of pollution in Delhi-NCR Rai also urged the Centre to talk to states and work on putting an end to stubble burning He was speaking at an event at the Chandgi Ram Akhara where all the MLAs had gathered to raise awareness about the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign Due to rains the pollution levels had gone down in Delhi since stubble burning had stopped in neighbouring areas But after the sun has come out the instances of stubble burning will increase We are taking all steps to reduce pollution in Delhi and running various campaigns to encourage peoples participation he told reporters The minister said they will be holding a meeting with the SDMs and scientists of Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCC on Friday to discuss how we can make this a widespread campaign When questioned about the implementation of GRAP to control pollution he said The pollution due to stubble burning cannot be controlled by implementing GRAP We had urged the Centre and states to spray PUSA bio-decomposer a microbial solution that can turn stubble into manure in 15 to 20 days to prevent stubble burning If it was sprayed responsibly farmers would not have had to indulge in stubble burning Stating that the government is working on controlling pollution inside the national capital Rai said they are working to control dust pollution and vehicular pollution If the need arises we will bring in GRAP Whatever needs to be done we will do to control pollution in Delhi But I pray to the Centre with folded hands to work towards stopping stubble burning Otherwise despite the efforts of Delhiites to control pollution they will have to face it due to stubble burning he said PTI SLB HDA

New Delhi Oct 18 PTI The Delhi government kicked off its month-long Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign across 100 crossings in the city on Monday to reduce vehicular emissionsDelhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai visited the ITO crossing and appealed to the public to extend their support to make this fight against pollution a success Vehicular emissions and dust are significant contributors to the air pollution of any city the minister saidTo reduce vehicular pollution the Delhi government has started a Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign from today Monday Data by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association PCRA shows that if people follow the exercise of switching off engines at traffic signals pollution can be cut down by 13-20 per cent Rai saidThis is a public campaign We all will have to fight together to beat pollution I appeal to the public to follow the campaign he addedRai said pollution levels were within safe limits in SeptemberThe spike in pollution levels in winters is due to the change in weather and the cases of stubble burning in neighbouring states the Delhi environment minister addedWe cannot do anything about stubble burning in neighbouring states So our effort is to reduce vehicular and dust pollution in Delhi through the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign and anti-dust drives he saidRai said that he had a meeting with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav which was attended by environment ministers of Punjab Haryana Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as wellWe had raised our concerns about stubble burning in the meeting The other state governments did not shoulder their responsibilities properly and thats why stubble burning is happening Rai allegedThe Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign will continue for a month till November 18As many as 2500 civil defence volunteers will be deployed in two shifts of 8 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 8 pm across 100 traffic junctions in the city for the campaignAccording to officials these civil defence volunteers will hand out pamphlets carrying information on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals three appeals to the publicTo help fight the pollution in Delhi Kejriwal had last week appealed to the people to actively participate in the campaign avoid using their cars at least one day a week and report any case of violation of pollution norms on the Green Delhi app PTI AKM IJT