Mira Bhayandar: Delay in imposing LED bulb conversion scheme costs Rs 24 crore per year to MBMC
The civic administration intended to be a part of the revolutionary LED initiative for its street light system which is presently controlled by a private service provider.
Street light | Representative Photo
Mira Bhayandar: Even after three years, the ambitious project of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to replace sodium vapour lamps with light emitting diode (LED) street lights lights has failed to become reality and as a result the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has been wasting Rs 24 core on the power hogging streetlight lights every month.
The central government, to take energy efficiency to another level, has been aggressively promoting the use of LED bulbs. As a part of the initiative the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a government public sector undertaking has extended an efficient lighting programme to urban local bodies across the nation.
The civic administration intended to be a part of the revolutionary LED initiative for its street light system which is presently controlled by a private service provider.
The project pending since last three years
A senior MBMC official claimed, that although the initiative would help conserve energy, the high initial investment pegged at Rs. 19 crore proved to be a dampener. "Three years ago, we had tabled a proposal before the state government authorities seeking the replacement done by the existing service provider. However, the proposal was rejected.”
The bulb would be replaced by the EESL and the MBMC will have to remain dependent on the service provider for maintenance and other logistical support.
15,000 street light poles in the twin-city
There are around 15,000 street light poles in the twin-city and the MBMC has to cough up more than Rs. 12,00 per pole towards electricity and maintenance charges. As per this tariff the Public Works Department (PWD) has spend around Rs. 2 crore every month to keep the street lights glowing. Replacing conventional bulbs of 15,000 street lights poles to smart LED’s would ensure 50% saving in power bills. The MBMC also has an option of adopting EESL's Pay-As-You-Save model, said an official.
CM Gives Positive Signal
The issue was discussed at length by legislator’s- Pratap Sarnaik and Geeta Jain in a recent meeting with chief minister-Eknath Shinde. Since several other municipalities had mooted similar proposals, the chief minister asked the authorities to take an opinion from the energy department following which an appropriate decision could be taken on the important energy saving issue.
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