Over 2 lakh street lights will be installed across Delhi to light up dark spots: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government will implement the 'Mukhyamantri Street Light Yojana' under which 2.1 lakh street lights will be installed across the city to light up dark spots to strengthen women safety in the national capital.

The three discoms will have the responsibility of installing them, he said. Each discom will install 70,000 street lights, the chief minister said.

The street lights will be installed on a similar model as that of CCTV cameras and will even be put outside people's houses.

The Delhi government's scheme bypasses the role of the MCD and provides a solution to the problems people face in dark stretches in the city, he said.

"The three discoms will also have the responsibility for maintenance. The installation will be of 20 to 40 Watt LED lights. The tendering will include a warranty clause of three to five years," he told reporters.

"The scheme has an investment of Rs 100 crore for the installation and Rs 10 crore per annum subsequently. We will not leave a single dark spot in Delhi," he said.

The lights installed under the scheme will be automatic and will have sensors, the chief minister said.

"People can submit their requests for street lights to their local MLAs following which the permission of the building owners will be taken. The street lights will be installed after the location of the survey is passed by the power company. The location for the street lights will be selected before November," he said, adding that the building owner's household connection will power the street light.

"In a day or two, we will decide how much electricity will be needed to run one light. We will deduct that amount from people's bills. This will also be an automatic arrangement," he said.

Attacking the municipal bodies, Kejriwal claimed that they were refusing to give NOCs for installation of street lights.

"The Delhi government wanted to install street lights all over the city. But in unauthorised colonies and slums, there was a lack of space. The MCDs were refusing to give NOCs to set up these street lights. This is why the scheme has been launched. Only the MLA and the building owner's permission will be required. People can get it installed outside their house, shop and street," he said.

Claiming that this is the largest project in the world, the chief minister said, "There are currently seven lakh street lights in Delhi. Under the 'Mukhyamantri Street Light Scheme', two lakh street lights will be installed. This is the first plan in the world, in which a tender of about 30 per cent of the current street light capacity is being launched," he said.