Pramesh S Jain
*Krishna Byre Gowda orders mandatory field inspections after installation, tighter monitoring and penalties based on citizen complaints.
With complaints over non-functional streetlights prompting intensified scrutiny of Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure,Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) officials have been directed to physically inspect LED streetlights after installation, ensure that faulty lights are repaired, and penalise contractors who fail to maintain them.
Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has set October 31 as the deadline to complete the installation and replacement of LED streetlights across the city.
Contractors responsible for failures in streetlight maintenance have so far been fined a total of Rs.93.67 lakh,including penalties imposed on the basis of complaints registered through the city’s Sahaaya 2.0 grievance-redressal system.
At a virtual review meeting on Friday,Gowda directed officials to verify the quality and functioning of streetlights through on-ground inspections rather than relying solely on reports of completed work.
Contractors must be penalised if lights are improperly installed or fail to function as required.
The latest directions follow three months of sustained reviews of streetlight installation and maintenance. Gowda had earlier suspended Executive Engineer H.V. Ramesh over dereliction of duty.
On the night of September 18,the Minister personally inspected the stretch from JP Nagar towards the Bannerghatta NICE Road and pulled up officials after finding a significant number of streetlights non-functional.
The Minister subsequently directed officials to address the deficiencies on priority and ensure that streetlight maintenance is monitored continuously.
LED installation must be completed by October 31:
While installation of LED streetlights and replacement of older lights have been completed in several localities following a series of reviews,Gowda said the progress was insufficient and directed officials to complete the remaining work by October 31.
He also instructed officials to replace sodium-vapour streetlights with LED lights in the East City Corporation jurisdiction.
The focus,officials were told,must extend beyond installation to ensuring that the lights remain operational and that contractors are held accountable for maintenance failures.
Streetlight complaints fall, but thousands remain under monitoring:
The intensified monitoring appears to be yielding results, with the number of streetlight-related complaints registered through Sahaaya 2.0 declining.
The average number of complaints received daily fell from 293 in June to 235 in October,according to figures presented at the meeting.
Between September 1 and October 15,a total of 8,186 streetlight-related complaints were registered,of which 6,765 had been resolved,officials informed the Minister.
Gowda directed officials to ensure that complaints received through the platform are addressed promptly and that persistent failures attract penalties.
The use of citizen complaints to identify lapses is also intended to strengthen accountability in the maintenance of the city’s streetlight network.
Contractors face Rs.93.67 lakh in penalties :
GBA is imposing penalties on contractors for failing to install streetlights as required or maintain existing installations in working condition.
Complaints registered through Sahaaya 2.0 are also being used as a basis for penal action.
The cumulative penalties imposed on contractors for streetlight maintenance failures have reached Rs.93,67,384.
The enforcement measures are part of a broader effort to ensure that civic infrastructure performs as intended and that contractors are held responsible for deficiencies in the services they are paid to deliver.
Centralised monitoring system planned :
Gowda also directed officials to submit detailed, constituency-wise schedules for completing the installation of a Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS),which will enable automated monitoring of streetlight operations.
Separate control rooms are being established across the four city corporations, and officials have been instructed to complete the work by October 31.
The system is expected to strengthen the monitoring of streetlight functionality and help authorities identify operational failures more efficiently.
GBA Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao said officials were holding regular review meetings to monitor progress in LED streetlight installation and maintenance.
Senior officials of the respective city corporations have been instructed to conduct physical inspections,verify the functioning of streetlights and penalise contractors who fail to maintain them.The sustained monitoring has already led to improvements in streetlight maintenance, he said.
Additional Commissioners Latha R.Kavitha Rajaram, Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar,Naveen Kumar Raju and Venkata Chalapathi,along with chief engineers,executive engineers and other officials,attended the meeting.
