THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To ensure the safety of the public and prevent road accidents, the local self-government department has started measures to revive the ‘Nilavu’ project, which was stalled for a while owing to the pandemic. The project, which was launched in February last year, is aimed at replacing traditional lamps with LED lights, which are cost-effective and long-lasting in all corporations, municipalities and panchayats.
So far, at least 1.5 lakh streetlights have been replaced with LED lights. However, the project was stalled last year following the second wave of Covid. KIIFB is the funding agency and it has earmarked Rs 236 crore for the project. “The government is moving fast towards the goal of a filament-free Kerala. At present, the Nilavu scheme is being implemented in 573 grama panchayats and 65 municipal corporations. Apart from this, there are local self-governing bodies that are already filament-free and local bodies that are moving towards the goal through their own projects.
Nilavu project aims to replace 10.5 lakh conventional streetlights with LED bulbs. It has been decided that the bulbs should be replaced within two days if they become unusable.Steps are being taken to ensure that no complaint lingers for more than a week. The chief minister himself has called a high-level meeting to resolve all the technical issues through discussion and move ahead,” M B Rajesh, LSG Minister, told TNIE.
KSEB is the nodal agency of the ‘Nilavu’ project. The KSEB has chosen Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, under the Union government, as the project management consultant. The lights will have a seven-year warranty, during which period there will be free replacement in case of faults. The lights are of six different wattages, ranging from 18 watts to 110 watts.
Sources said that some of the panchayats had encountered issues, including the dispute over maintaining streetlights between LSGs and KSEB. This led to delay in some panchayats and municipalities. However, we are doing our best to coordinate the two stakeholders, sources close to the project added.
As part of the annual maintenance contract (AMC) offered by the KSEB, the cost per LED is Rs 34.46. The local bodies can choose whether to ink the AMC with the KSEB or go in for a different arrangement. The KSEB will calculate the financial gain from the shift to the LED lighting system and transfer the same to the local bodies at regular intervals.
At present, there are about 16.24 lakh streetlights in Kerala. 10.5 lakh of them are using conventional electric bulbs. This leads to huge energy wastage and cost overruns. By replacing all these with LED bulbs, streetlights will have more brightness and durability.