Govt likely to give approval to replace 40,000 old streetlights

The Delhi Government is likely to give financial approval to replace 40,000 old streetlights on roads under the public works department. In September last year, the department announced a plan to replace conventional sodium (HPSV) streetlights with modern smart LED fittings.

Sources said the expenditure for the project is likely to be placed in the next expenditure and finance meeting. “A proposal is being made by the department, which will be put up in the next E and FC meeting for financial nod. After that, further work on inviting tenders and selecting an agency will be done,” they said.

Currently, around 96,000 streetlights are managed by the public works department (PWD), of which 45,000 still run on conventional HPSV fittings. “These will now be systematically replaced with energy-efficient smart LED lights, ensuring better illumination, reduced electricity consumption and longer lifespan,” sources said.

The expenditure and finance meeting is usually headed by the Chief Minister along with the cabinet and senior Government officials.

“The Government is also exploring innovative revenue models. One such proposal under active consideration is the use of poles for advertisement purposes,” another source added.

According to initial estimates, by switching from HPSV fittings to smart LEDs alone, the Delhi Government expects to save around Rs 31.53 crore annually in electricity and maintenance costs. Currently, the PWD spends roughly around `90 crore per annum on power bills and maintenance of streetlights.

Each smart light will be connected to a mobile application, which will further be monitored from a centralised dashboard and control room at PWD headquarters, allowing officials to monitor performance in real time, detect faults instantly, and ensure immediate repair, the source said.

Under the project, PWD will also be repairing existing LED streetlights and adding features to the existing lights, including monitoring and an automatic fault detection mechanism. The mobile app is likely to be made accessible to the public as well.