AFD Bank (French Development Agency) has agreed to provide a financial assistance of ₹1,000 crore for implementation of the LED street lights programme in the rural areas of the State.
As a step in that direction, the government has also finalised an action plan to install/retrofit 40 lakh of energy efficient street lights in village panchayats .
The move will benefit the panchayats in reducing the financial burden of electricity bills. The government has estimated that the panchayats will get a net financial benefit of ₹669 crore and energy savings of 444 MU in the next 10 years in the State. The government has chosen Anantapur, Kadapa, Chittoor, East Godavari, and Vizianagaram districts to install 10 lakh LED street lights in the first phase. The village panchayats will have to open an escrow account and deposit ₹150 per LED light. Also, they will have to pass a resolution for replacement of the existing lights with the LED ones. The tenders will be opened on September 6 and the process will be completed before the third week of September. District-level stock points for storage of LED lights will be arranged by September 25.
Installation of LED lights will commence on October 2. Some 300 teams will be pressed into service to install 10,000 LED lights per day. The project is to completed by March 31, 2018.
