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Non-functional streetlights: Ludhiana mayor stops payment of ₹3 crore to company
The payment will be made only after the company repairs all faulty streetlights, says the mayor
With a large number of light emitting diode (LED) streetlights still lying non-functional in different parts of the city, mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu has stopped the payment of ₹3 crore to Tata company for installation and maintenance of the lights.
The mayor said the payment will be made only after the company repaired all the faulty lights.
Company officials met the mayor at the Zone A office of the MC on Tuesday for getting the payment released. However, the mayor asked the officials to wait till an inspection was conducted to ensure that all the streetlights were functional.
Sandhu said, “I had conducted an inspection on May 5 following complaints by residents and councillors that lights were lying non-functional in over 50% of the city area. During inspection, I found that the streetlights were non-functional even outside my camp office and MC commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar’s residence. Hence, I had directed the company to repair the lights by May 15. But, they failed to do so. So, we have stopped the payment. The payment will be released only after a fresh inspection.”
Senior deputy mayor Sham Sundar Malhotra said, “The MC is supposed to make the payment to the company out of energy savings after the installation of LED lights in place of traditional ones. The proportion of energy-saving sharing (monetary value of savings) between the company and the MC is 85:15 (85% will go to the company and 15 to the MC). On this basis, if the lights remain non-functional, the savings will automatically increase and the company will get its benefit, while residents have to bear the brunt of non-functional streetlights.”
A company official, requesting anonymity, said, “Most of the time, lights are damaged due to power theft as it leads to overloading. The MC has also not paid the required amount for updating the infrastructure. Only around ₹12 crore has been sanctioned against the over ₹50-crore demand. The recent delay in repairing the lights was due to the shortage of staff and material due to lockdown. However, lights are now functional in most parts of the city.”
