Bhubaneswar: The state government Thursday launched ‘Unnati’ – an urban development initiative to replace conventional street lights with energy efficient LED lights in civic bodies.
The Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department entered into an agreement with Energy Efficiency Service Limited (EESL) for implementation of Street Light National Programme.
According to the provisions of the agreement, at least 1.2 lakh conventional street lights in 107 urban local bodies would be replaced with energy-efficient LED lights within a year. The combined impact of government’s initiatives could help the state save energy to the tune of 35.97 million units annually and a total cost saving of about `26.97 crore per annum.
The H&UD department and EESL will invest about `75 crore in the next one year for installation of LED street lights, according to the agreement.
Maintenance and monitoring for a period of seven years will be taken care of by EESL.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who launched the programme here, said, “The new initiative of my government is aimed at bringing inclusive development of urban areas by synergising the resources from various schemes and agencies and by providing critical gap funding.”
Under ‘Unnati’ scheme, the government has decided to ensure 100 per cent piped water supply to all the citizens and LED lighting for the streets and wards in urban local bodies (ULBs) of the state.
Post News Network
