Bengaluru Streetlight Contractors Fined ₹93.67 Lakh; October 31 Deadline to Complete LED Installation
Bengaluru: Contractors have been fined a total of ₹93,67,384 for failing to maintain streetlights within GBA limits, as Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda directed officials to complete pending LED streetlight installations by October 31 and make on-site inspections mandatory after installation.
During a virtual review meeting on Friday, Byre Gowda instructed officials of the respective city corporations to physically check the quality and functioning of installed LED lights. Contractors must face penalties if lights are improperly installed or do not work, he said.
The enforcement measures include penalties based on streetlight complaints registered through the Sahaya 2.0 platform, alongside action for failure to install lights and maintain them in working condition.
Officials told the meeting that 8,186 streetlight complaints had been registered from September through October 15, of which 6,765 had been resolved.
The average number of complaints received each day had declined from 293 in June to 235 in October, officials said. They attributed the improvement to continued monitoring and said complaints received through Sahaya 2.0 were being attended to promptly.
Byre Gowda acknowledged that installation had been completed in several areas following the previous month’s inspections and repeated review meetings. He said the improvement in the functioning of streetlights was encouraging, but the progress was not sufficient.
He directed officials to finish installation in the remaining areas by October 31. He also instructed the East City Corporation to take steps to replace sodium lights with LED lights.
The review covered the installation of a Centralized Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) to automatically monitor the functioning of the city’s streetlights.
Byre Gowda asked officials to submit an Assembly constituency-wise schedule specifying the deadlines for completing the CCMS work. Separately, he directed that work on control rooms being established in four city corporations be completed by October 31.
The latest instructions follow three months of repeated meetings between the minister and officials on LED installation and streetlight maintenance. Executive Engineer H.V. Ramesh had earlier been suspended for dereliction of duty, according to the information provided on the review.
On the night of September 18, Byre Gowda personally inspected the stretch from JP Nagar to the Bannerghatta NICE Road and reprimanded officials after finding a large number of streetlights not functioning. He had directed them to resolve the problems quickly.
At Friday’s meeting, the minister reiterated that installation must be followed by physical verification, with corporation officials responsible for ensuring that the lights are properly installed and operational.
GBA Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao said officials were holding regular meetings to review progress on LED streetlight installation.
Senior officers of the respective city corporations had been instructed to personally inspect installation and maintenance, he said. Officers were conducting inspections and imposing penalties on contractors who failed to maintain the lights adequately.
Rao said continued monitoring had brought improvements in streetlight maintenance.
City corporation Additional Commissioners Latha R., Kavitha Rajaram, Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar, Naveen Kumar Raju and Venkata Chalapathi attended the meeting, along with chief engineers, executive engineers and other officials.
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