In  a move to upgrade the quality and increase the number of street
lights in several areas of the city, the Corporation recently passed a
resolution approving a plan to install new LED lights at a cost of `300
crore.

In its monthly council meeting, the Corporation approved a
plan to install 1.1 lakh street lights at various neighbourhoods, where
there have been complaints of poor lighting.

Areas such as
Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Valasaravakkam, Alandur,
Perungudi and Sholinganallur, which have been identified with poor or
inadequate lighting, will be the key beneficiaries of the plan.

Alandur,
which is a fairly recent addition to the Corporation, will receive
major upgrades as per the plan. The Corporation,  as of now, operates a
total of 2,14,008 street lights in the city limits but the concentration
of these lights in areas located on the fringes is fairly poor.

The
resolution also promises hope for areas where there is a problem of
faulty lighting. “Interior roads in Valasaravakkam and Porur do have
adequate number of streetlights but the problem is with the maintenance.
A fair proportion of street lights here are not functional and are in
desperate need of an upgrade,” says Bhaskar, a resident of
Valasaravakkam.

While the effort has been well lauded by residents
of several areas, there is also widespread skepticism regarding its
implementation. Pankaj Menon, a resident of Nanganallur says, “There
have been one too many hollow promises about the lighting problem in our
area from the local authorities. However, since a formal resolution has
been passed by the Corporation, we can hope for some respite.”