KOCHI: Four months into the commissioning of more than 40,000 streetlights under a pan-city LED project aimed at enhancing basic infrastructure, lights in several parts of the city have become dysfunctional. Faulty streetlights at Kaloor, Kadavanthra, Stadium Link Road, Ernakulam North, Vyttila, Palluruthy and Panampilly Nagar have also led to traffic issues and accidents.
According to Girinagar councillor P D Martin, a lack of proper maintenance is the prime cause. “Though there are terms and conditions about maintenance, these lights have not been taken care of. There’s a lack of coordination as well. Most of these lights haven’t been repaired even after 10 or 15 days,” Martin said, adding that more than 40 lights are dysfunctional in his division.
The newly installed high-tech, energy-efficient LED lights across Kochi corporation were commissioned in October, 2025. Implemented by the corporation with the support of the Smart Cities Mission, the project was completed at a cost of around Rs 30 crore. Public works standing committee chairperson T K Ashraf said the corporation has directed the Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) to rectify the faults at the earliest.
“We held a meeting with the CSML officials. They have been asked to fix the issues with the streetlights within two to three days, as mentioned in the agreement. The corporation has also decided to constitute zone-based squads for monitoring and maintenance. A schedule will be prepared for the same,” Ashraf said.
Kaloor South councillor M G Aristotle pointed out that, often, a set of lights in an area turn faulty. “This leads to accidents. The lights on the medians are not working. Thus, action must be taken at the earliest,” he said, adding that around 20 to 30 lights in every division are in disrepair.
According to Sudha Dileepkumar, the councillor of Ernakulam Central division, the delay in maintenance is also caused by a lack of coordination between KSEB and CSML. “According to the agreement, the lights were to be monitored at the Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre (IC-4) and the malfunctioning lights are expected to be replaced within two days. However, these lights are repaired and replaced after multiple complaints, at times after two or three weeks,” she said.
The corporation has signed a five-year agreement with the CSML, until 2030, said Tyson Mathew, a member of the public works standing committee.
“The lights becoming defective just a few months after commissioning has also raised concerns about the quality of the products used,” he said.
LED city lighting project'
Date of commissioning October 1, 2025
Total streetlights installed 40,000
Amount spent Rs 30cr