Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, also the Union Power Minister, said that the country has become a world leader in moving into LED lighting from the conventional bulbs and this is expected to save power bills to the tune of ₹45,000 crore every year.
The Minister after receiving the CII- IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) Platinum rating award to the Secunderabad Railway Station from CII-IGBC local chapter chairman C. Shekar Reddy, was all praise for the South Central Railway and the station in particular for its green initiatives as 224 stations and 561 offices moved to LEDs saving up to ₹1.7 crore a year.
The upcoming solar power plant at the station, which is expected to generate 400 KW power will save ₹21 lakh in power bills annually.
Centre's 'pet project'
Stating that LED lighting scheme is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, Mr. Goyal urged the Telangana government and the local bodies to replace traditional lighting as the government has already taken steps to reduce the price of LED lights by 90% to make it affordable even to the poor.
Up to 90 crore LED bulbs have been sold all over the country at reduced prices, the Minister said.
Deputy Chief Minister Mehmood Ali and Home Minister N. Narsimha Reddy, Mayor B. Rammohan, former Union minister and member of Parliament Bandaru Dattatreya, Bharatiya Janata Party Telangana unit president K. Laxman and others were present on the occasion.