Overview
- The Public Works Department floated a ₹473–473.24 crore tender on Saturday to replace about 96,000 conventional streetlights on 51,160 poles and to install roughly 5,000 additional poles on PWD-managed roads.
- The tender requires a Centralised Command Centre for real-time, individual-light monitoring so faults and dark stretches can be detected automatically rather than through citizen complaints.
- Officials estimate the smart network will save nearly 40 million units of electricity a year and about ₹25 crore in annual power costs by using dimming controls and more efficient LEDs.
- Contract terms set a 180-day target for installation, a seven-year warranty on fixtures, five years of contractor operations and maintenance, performance-linked incentives and penalties, and a deferred payment model with 25% up front.
- If implemented on schedule the upgrade is meant to remove about 5,000 dark spots and improve safety for pedestrians and women while shifting PWD maintenance from reactive repairs to data-driven upkeep, though the benefits will depend on bidder selection and on-the-ground delivery.