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Defunct streetlights: Bureaucratic hurdles keeping Lucknow in the dark?
Municipal commissioner Indrajeet Singh said that there are complaints against the chief engineer while assuring that the matter will be resolved soon.
LUCKNOW: Even as the Lucknow district administration has received multiple complaints regarding defunct streetlights from several areas of the state capital, slow movement of files among offices and complex bureaucratic procedures are making it difficult for the officials to address the civic apathy. This is despite an estimated 15,000 streetlights not functioning properly in the city.
Speaking on the issue, Sayyed Yawar Hussain Reshu, leader of the opposition in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation house, said, “At a time when the city needs quick decisions for redressal of issues like poor sanitation and defunct streetlights, officials are just sitting over crucial files. On November 9, divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob wrote a letter to Amrit Abhijat, the principal secretary of the urban development department, asking him to remove Sanjay Katiyar, the chief engineer. However, no decision has been taken on the issue so far.”
Reshu added, “The chief engineer has not been able to fix the issue of defunct streetlights despite regular directives from the divisional commissioner. Frustrated with the situation, the divisional commissioner asked the principal secretary of the urban development department to remove the chief engineer but the file hasn’t reached the latter’s office yet. This is when the offices of the two officers are located at a distance of just a few kilometres. This slow administrative movement at the expense of public welfare is worrying.”
In a similar vein, Girish Mishra, a city-based corporator, said, “The chief engineer never goes into the field and doesn’t listen to our problems.”
Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Indrajeet Singh admitted that there are complaints against the chief engineer while assuring that the matter will be resolved soon.
