The Union Urban Development Ministry has finally realised the importance of well-lit streets in ensuring safety of women on the roads.
The Ministry has issued an advisory to all the States asking them to undertake a review of the existing facilities of street lighting in public places and strengthen them wherever required. The Ministry underlined the “need for increased focus on street lighting in public places”.
The move follows a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries held early January this year in the wake of the death of the December 16 Delhi gang-rape victim.
Women in general and NGOs have been blaming poor street lighting as one of the main reasons for increasing danger to the safety of the fair sex. The December 16 gang-rape incident also happened in a bus moving on the dark stretches on the Delhi roads.
UD Secretary Sudhir Krishna has asked the States for a thorough review of the existing facilities of street lighting to be undertaken by civic bodies / municipalities / urban local bodies, and based on the findings of the review, he said, necessary improvements may be made, wherever required.
He said that research and evidence suggests that improved street lighting deters potential offenders by increasing the risk that they will be identified easily and recognised while committing crimes. Moreover, he said, improved street lighting can encourage more people to walk at night, which also increases informal surveillance.
The recent report of the Justice Verma Committee has also underscored the importance of street lighting in the context of safety and security of women stating that street lighting everywhere would provide more safety since dark areas are more prone to facilitate crimes.
Emphasising on usage of cost-effective technologies, Krishna has suggested the States to follow the guidelines prepared by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the Ministry of Power for energy efficient street lighting and the methodologies to implement it.