Now Municipal Committees to sign pacts with PDD for streetlight use

Srinagar, Nov 26: With the Power Development Department (PDD) undertaking fresh cabling for smart meters, the streetlights in towns have become non-functional. Officials say that these have to be restored through agreements with local municipal committees.

The PDD officials emphasise that after the installation of smart meters, every unit of electricity is crucial, as all consumption is monitored online.
The official mentions that it is a matter concerning the entire Kashmir region. "Municipalities are required to make agreements for the bulbs and lights installed on poles along link roads and inner lanes, and they need to pay the associated charges," the official said.

The PDD official stated that municipalities have funds, but instead of allocating some for recurring grants, they tend to spend on purchasing lights.
"This time, every line is metered, and we have two meters—one at the distribution box and one for the consumer. Everything is monitored and online," the official explained.

The official however said that considering the gravity of the issue concerning public safety, some bulbs have been made functional by directly connecting them to distribution boxes.

"However, this results in losses for the department, as every unit is now accounted for, making the department responsible for each unit,” the official said.
The official said that while LED bulbs pose no issues, sodium vapor lights of 2 KWs have been installed at many places, making the functioning of streetlights an unresolved issue.

"The suggested solution is for municipalities to pay for the lights based on the number of LED bulbs or the other lights and the average hours they remain switched on in various areas," the official said.

The official further said that connecting bulbs directly to distribution boxes is possible in some locations, but it is not feasible at every pole.
Another PDD official pointed out that the new cabling is done under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) scheme and there is a provision for streetlights in this scheme as well, but municipalities need to sign agreements with the department and pay the associated charges.

"The government has set a fixed rate code of 4.5 for streetlights, and the PDD department is tasked with generating revenue from these lights. However, all the municipalities in towns fail to pay the charges for these lights," the official said.

He said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has installed lighting transformers and they also pay for every street light to the PDD department.
"Wherever they (SMC) have installed any light in Srinagar areas or have decorated the boulevard and the Dal Lake area they pay for it. But town municipalities are not ready to do the agreement and pay charges for the street lights," he said.

The PDD official however stated that the municipalities claim that they will not pay the charges of street lights as PDD does not pay taxes for the electricity poles installed in their jurisdiction.

"But PDD has Right of Way (RoW) under which they can install poles anywhere for public good. We install poles in areas which do not fall under jurisdiction of any Municipality. Does that mean the R&B department will raise similar claims? This is not the way out," he said.

The Superintendent Engineer of Projects Circle North, KPDCL, Mohammad Hussain Shah, acknowledged that in the new scheme, the cable has a dedicated line for streetlights.

He however said there was accountability for every unit stating that these lights are not owned by any department, yet they remain illuminated throughout the day and night without anyone paying for the electricity.

"Municipalities must register agreements with the PDD to address this issue," he said.