BENGALURU: Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that Bengaluru’s LED street lighting project has the potential to achieve 61.01% electricity savings once fully implemented.
Questioning the slow pace of execution of the project at GBA electrical engineers meeting on Tuesday to review the implementation of the LED street lighting project, Byre Gowda sought an explanation from officials on why the project continues to face delays. He criticised the officials for attending the review meeting without basic information on the project’s progress.
“There is no basic data, no answers to the questions raised, and not even the minimum preparation despite being called for an official review meeting. Why have you come here? There is a growing attitude that a government job simply means turning up and leaving without accountability. Such conduct by officials brings a bad name to the government” he pointed out.
“Work orders for the project were issued on May 7 and May 15. Only 2,67,270 lights are installed in the project with a plan to install a total of 3,02,919 LED streetlights across the city.
Similarly, while 24,677 Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) panels were to be installed, only 7,567 panels are completed. Why has the remaining work been delayed?” he asked, expressing his dissatisfaction.
The project was conceived as a permanent solution to persistent complaints about malfunctioning streetlights while also improving energy efficiency and reducing electricity consumption. He directed officials to replace all conventional streetlights with energy-efficient LED lights without exception, install additional streetlights in areas where none currently exist, and ensure that CCMS-based automation systems are installed to continuously monitor whether streetlights are functioning properly.
