The Andhra Pradesh government appointed a committee for verifying the LED street-lighting project, comprising officials of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (PR&RD) Department, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), AP-Discoms and A.P. State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation (APSeedco).
The committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting on February 10 at the office of the Commissioner of Panchayat Raj as per the directions of the Minister for PR&RD Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy.
According to an official release, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy has issued instructions for effective maintenance of the LED street-lights to ensure that they are fully functional and said that the above committee should concentrate on a rapid response mechanism to put the LED street light programme on the proper track in the villages, with the cooperation of the EESL.
Complaints have to be redressed within 72 hours.
Web portal
The officials have told the Minister that measures have been taken for creating a web portal with a transparent mechanism for attending to the complaints within the time stipulated.
Mr. Ramachandra Reddy has said till date around 25.04 lakh LED street lights have been installed in villages, of which 1.50 lakh are installed by NREDCAP. The EESL has installed about 23.54 lakh in 13 districts and is taking steps for installation of another 3 to 5 lakh lights in uncovered areas.
The installation of LED lights in villages is estimated to save 260 million units of energy per year and generate monitory savings of around ₹156 crore per year.
The EESL has made an upfront investment of nearly ₹800 crore for the installation of LED street lights in both urban and rural areas in A.P.