The Hindu              12.06.2013

Streetlight adverts will now attract heavy fines

These advertisement
hoardings and cables, Chennai Corporation officials said, are the
biggest challenge to the functioning of streetlights in the city. To
combat this, the civic body is now planning to impose a fine of Rs,
10,000 on any agency that uses a streetlight’s pole for advertisements.

Earlier
this year, the Corporation had set June 10 as the deadline for the
removal of all structures placed on streetlights. However, the deadline
has now been extended by 15 days following requests from agencies that
use these poles.

The initiative to penalise violators
was taken on Tuesday, when employees of the Corporation’s electrical
department met to discuss ways to improve the condition of streetlights.

“Many
streetlights are damaged because of illegal advertisements. Many
agencies also use streetlights to support their cables, and this also
leads to considerable damage. As a result, several streetlights do not
work and roads remain unlit at night,” said a Corporation official.

“The
disruption of power supply in one cable can affect other streetlights
on the same stretch. The Corporation has to spend thousands to set it
right. So the fine amount of Rs. 10,000 was accepted by everyone at the
meeting,” the official added.

However, the
Corporation Council will discuss this proposal and is likely to take a
decision on it only at its next meeting. The fine amount may also be
reduced.

The move is part of the civic body’s larger
plan to put in place an automated control system to monitor streetlights
in the city. A few weeks ago, the Corporation called for expressions of
interest from companies for a pilot study and proposal for the
automated facility.

Under the system, data on the
functioning of streetlights will be collected and updated, and immediate
action will be taken to fix lights that do not work properly.

The
new proposal envisages a control room in Ripon Buildings and a study of
4,569 individual streetlight fittings in locations including
Chintadripet, Ashok Nagar, Velachery and Adyar.

At
Tuesday’s meeting, it was also decided that agencies will now have to
seek permission to lay their cables and pay a track rent to the
Corporation. “This is essential as at least five complaints on damage to
streetlights are registered every day in each ward. This is a major
concern now,” said V. Sukumar Babu, councillor of ward 105.

At present, the Corporation maintains 2.13 lakh streetlights, of which over 3.5 percent do not function on a daily basis.