THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a novel initiative, the Thiruvananthapuram corporation has constituted a centralised control monitoring system to check whether the LED street lights in the city, that will be installed soon, are functioning properly. According to the corporation, this system will also receive complaints and suggestions from the public and ward councillors about the functioning of the lights.
Separate offices will start at the three KSEB divisions — Thiruvananthapuram, Kazhakoottam and Neyyattinkara. In addition, the civic body will recruit staff to repair faulty street lights. Smart meters will also be placed. As per the contract with three shortlisted companies, complaints should be resolved within 48 hours.
The corporation is gearing up to replace old neon lamps with new LED lights. After receiving the necessary approvals, officials say, the corporation can begin installing LED lights as soon as October.
Earlier, the technical and financial committee evaluated the tenders of six companies. Of these, three have been shortlisted. However, the corporation is yet to reveal the names of these firms. Corporation Secretary Binu Francis said the civic body will reveal the names after the tender is presented and approved at the council meeting this month.
The partners will be responsible for 10 years of maintenance. The private partner will also pay for material purchases and electricity costs during this period. The corporation plans to install more than 1 lakh streetlights in the city. As per recent estimates, Thiruvananthapuram has approximately 1.08 lakh streetlights. Of this, only 40% are operational.
The corporation will have smart meters and receive real-time updates on which lights are working and which are not under the proposed arrangement. In 2020, the corporation replaced nearly 39,500 of the 85,000 street lights in the 100 wards. However, the project executed for around Rs 18 crore in 2018 and 2019 faced a major setback when the company roped in by KSEB to manage the LED street lights stopped the maintenance work.
As per the feedback from residents, around 50 per cent of the places have yet to get LED lights.
The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation incurs between Rs 10-12 crore as electricity expense each month.
With LED lights, the civic body believes the cost can be drastically reduced. A similar project was implemented in Kozhikode corporation recently. It helped the city cut monthly power expenses from Rs 46 lakh to Rs 12 lakh.
The corporation had fielded a similar proposal way back in 2014. However, the project suffered on account of delays, postponements, and disputes. Although several companies responded to the expression of interest, nothing materialised. Meanwhile, the double-poled neon street lights on the median of 42-kilometre roads that come under the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) will not come under this project.
First, the civic body intends to replace the lights under its jurisdiction.
Power point: The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation incurs between Rs 10-12 crore as electricity expense each month. With LED lights, the civic body believes the cost can be drastically reduced.