AAP's ‘Red light on…’ plan a new row in Delhi even as GRAP stage III kicks in

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.

Air quality index or AQI of the national capital seems to be a new flashpoint Delhi lieutenant governor (L-G) VK Saxena and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government as the former has asked chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to reconsider the 'Red light on, Gaadi off' campaign, questioning the effectiveness of such an "ad-hoc" measure, reported news agency PTI.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and L-G VK Saxena. (File)

The development comes even as the Centre's air quality panel on Saturday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to immediately implement curbs under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) amid the worsening air quality in the city. The restrictions include a ban on construction and demolition activities except for essential projects concerning national security, defence, railways and metro rail among others.

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.

"The L-G has sent the file to chief minister Kejriwal with the advice to reconsider the proposal," a source told PTI.

The Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi had earlier attacked Saxena, alleging that delay in approving the proposal had forced it to postpone the October 28 launch of the campaign. But the report, citing sources, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai had lied as the file sent by the chief minister mentioned the date of launch as October 31.

The L-G objected to the "inhuman" and "exploitative use" of Civil Defence Volunteers (CDVs) at extremely polluted traffic intersections and sites, the report added.

Saxena has reportedly also highlighted that the “outcome" of the previous campaigns is 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.

Delhi air quality nears 'severe' category

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said the authorities might impose restrictions on the plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in the NCR considering the worsening air quality.

Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index stood at 397 at 4pm, the worst since January. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).

GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.

It classifies the air quality in the Delhi-NCR under four different stages: Stage I - 'Poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II - 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III - 'Severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - 'Severe Plus' (AQI >450).

(With inputs from agencies)