A Government Order regarding street lights in local bodies issued last week has councillors and officials of the city Corporation perplexed. The order, issued on February 16, says LED lamps are not mandatory for street lights, overturning the condition that was put forward as part of the guidelines for Plan fund utilisation in 2013.
One of the major reasons for switching over to LED lights from the old fluorescent tube lights was the low maintenance cost and long life. The LEDs have an approximate life of around 8-9 years and low maintenance costs compared to the mercury tube lights and sodium vapour lamps, which last only for a maximum of 3 years, say Corporation sources.
Not surprisingly, even the United Democratic Front councillors are up in arms against the new order.
“By making LEDs not mandatory yet again, the government is giving leeway for the continued use of the old tube lights, which would push up the costs. There could have been pressure from the manufacturers. At present, the situation is such that maintenance work needs to be done frequently, with increased costs every time,” says UDF councillor Tony Oliver.
He says that in addition to the cost of the materials, a sum of Rs.260 each is spent on maintenance work on posts. The order comes at a time when the city Corporation is about to finalise a private firm for its LED streetlight project. It is looking for a ‘zero investment model’ for the LED project, which aims to replace all the 84,000 street lights across the city in a phased manner.
“The Corporation’s technical committee will meet on Wednesday to narrow down the Expression of Interest from 11 firms,” says Works committee chairperson V.S. Padmakumar.
- Councillors
flay decision
Corporation to go ahead with LED street light project
