VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is all set to declare East Godavari as the first district to have 100 percent LED street lighting. He is expected to make the announcement on April 24 on the occasion of National Panchayat Raj Divas and is likely to dedicate the achievement to those living in rural areas of the State. Official said that installation of 3.1 lakh LED street lights in the East Godavari district is expected to save around 34 million units (MU) annually.
According to a press release on Sunday, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu held a teleconference with Panchayat Raj officials and lauded their efforts for the feat. He set a deadline of November 2019, for the completion of the LED street light project across the state. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the project would enhance the living standards of people. “Simultaneously study the global best practices in LED street-lighting, while executing the project so that qualitative services are offered to the public,” he told officials.
IT and Panchayat Raj minister Nara Lokesh informed the CM that out of the total 50 lakh LED street lights installed in the country, AP has installed around 11.61 lakh. “Even states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are lagging behind,” he said.
Principal secretary (panchayat raj and rural development) K Jawahar Reddy explained that a special action plan was under process for integrating the minister’s dash board with centralized control monitoring system.