The Hindu 13.08.2013
LEDs to replace 29,000 street lights
Coimbatore Corporation will replace all the street
lights in added areas and install new lights wherever required. Mayor
S.M. Velusamy told reporters here that in the 40 wards in added areas,
the Corporation would replace 29,000 street lights with LEDs.
But
the process would begin only after the Corporation obtained the audit
report from the auditor engaged for the purpose. The auditor would study
the 40 wards for about four months and submit a report.
Thereafter,
the Corporation would engage the agency that had won the tender for the
purpose to replace the lights. The entire process would take about 16
months.
By the end of 2014, the added areas would be
on a par with the old city areas as far as street lighting was
concerned. He said that in the last Council meeting the Corporation had
passed a resolution in this regard. The entire project would cost around
Rs. 20 crore.
Mr. Velusamy said that the Corporation
would not pay the contractor upfront. It would install around 50 per
cent and then wait for the performance of the street lights. The
contractor had to establish that the LEDs consumed 35 per cent less
power compared to conventional street lights and only then the civic
body would release the instalments over a period of five years. This had
been factored into the contract agreement, he said.
Even
as the work was in progress, the Corporation would also initiate a
similar move to replace lights and poles in the old city areas. This had
been discussed in the last Council meeting, he added.
Contractors will not be paid upfront Performance of the lights to be monitored.