Gopal Rai seeks report over Ghazipur landfill fire
He directed the Principal Secretary of Environment and Forest to submit the report within 48 hours.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday launched the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign of the Delhi government from ITO Chowk. He gave a call to all drivers to turn their vehicles off at the red light by presenting them roses.
During the launch, civil defence volunteers distributed pamphlets containing the ‘Chief Minister’s Appeal to the People’ in which he has appealed to commuters to turn off their vehicles when the red light is on; reduce one trip a week and download the Green Delhi mobile app on their phones.
Gopal Rai said, “Research data on pollution shows that vehicular pollution plays a very prominent role in air pollution. The Delhi government is already running an anti-dust campaign and, similarly, the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ drive has been started to reduce vehicular pollution.”
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He said that according to the data provided by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association, if people sincerely follow the ‘Red Light on, Gaadi off’ campaign, then vehicular pollution inside Delhi can be reduced by 13 to 20 per cent.
“The volume of vehicles which were running inside Delhi in September is the same even now. But, at that time, the level of pollution was normal. The pollution levels increase in winter due to changing weather and stubble burning. As incidents of stubble burning are increasing, pollution levels in Delhi are increasing rapidly. We cannot do anything to stop stubble burning in other states. That’s why our effort is to reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi,” Rai said.
Gopal Rai informed that a joint meeting was held with the Union Minister of Environment in which the Environment Ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh had participated.
“The solution was kept in front of them. We had requested them that they should deal with the problem of pollution just like us and take it seriously. But other state governments do not discharge their responsibility seriously. Due to this, stubble burning is going on rapidly in the neighbouring states and air pollution is increasing inside Delhi.”
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