In a major setback for the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), the state government has red flagged the civic body’s proposal of replacing high pressure sodium vapour (HPSV) streetlights with Light Emitting Diode (LED ) powered lights, in the twin-city through the private player.
A year after the government mandated LED bulbs sourced from Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) for all civic bodies across the state, the MBMC tabled a proposal before the Urban Development Department (UDD) in March-2020, seeking permission to rope in the private service provider which already handled the installation and maintenance work of streetlights in the twin-city.
However, the government authorities via its letter dated August 10, 2021 has clearly shot down MBMC’s proposal while stating that an official Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed with the EESL to install 20 lakh LED streetlights across the state and involving a private player cannot be allowed at this stage.
“Our proposal ensures that the civic does not have to pay a single penny for the replacement process. We are in touch with the government authorities and confident of convincing them in the hope of getting a nod for the much needed proposal which is extremely feasible.” said municipal commissioner Dilip Dhole.
As per statistics sourced out from MBMC’s public works department (PWD), there were 15,700 street light poles in the twin-city till 2019, out of which nearly 13,347 have been installed by the private service provider and the rest 2,363 by the civic administration.
With an average expense of Rs 800 per pole towards electricity and maintenance charges, the MBMC spends around Rs 15 crore every year to keep the street lights glowing. The transition is expected to save up to 40 percent of electricity, moreover the LED lasts nearly four times as compared to conventional sodium vapour lights.
In 2011, the erstwhile civic chief-Vikram Kumar had launched a pilot project by installing 28 energy saving poles in Mira Road on an experimental basis, which had recorded a substantial reduction in energy consumption. But the project was mysteriously put on the backburner.
Our proposal ensures that the civic does not have to pay a single penny for the replacement process. We are in touch with the government authorities and confident of convincing them in the hope of getting a nod for the much needed proposal which is extremely feasible.
MBMC Commissioner, Dilip Dhole.
