The urban development department has decided to go green for lighting up the streets of 16 urban local bodies deprived of streetlights at present.

The department has initiated the bidding process for installation of solar LED lights for streets in Danapur, Khagaul, Phulwarisharif, Hajipur, Begusarai, Siwan, Motihari, Gaya, Bodhgaya and Bhagalpur among other select urban local bodies (See graphics)

“For a state that faces perennial power crisis, solar energy is the most feasible solution for all kinds of electricity requirements. The solar LED lights would not only conserve nature by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases but also provide safety to citizens on roads. The work on solar LED lights scheme is expected to commence from May 30. Installation of all LED lights would be completed within six months from the date of awarding the contract,” said a senior official of the urban development department.

According to sources, these solar-powered streetlights would have minimum 20W white-coloured LED lamps fitted on 4.5m-high wrought iron poles.

These poles would be equipped with timers to ensure that the lights remain off in daytime and are lit in dark. These streetlights would be on from dusk to dawn (5.30pm to 7.30am).

Urban development department officials said the selected bidder would be required to visit all the towns and assess the feasibility of either of the two systems — a centralised solar power system connected with all solar LED streetlight poles or individual solar LED light kit fitted pole.

Based on the findings of such assessment, the selected firm/s would install the poles at an interval of 30m on both sides of road in a pattern that would ensure that the distance between two poles on either side of the road is 60m.

The sources added that apart from installation of these solar lights, the selected firm would also be required to operate and maintain them for 10 years from the date of installation in each town.

“As the scheme is to be implemented in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode, it has been ensured that the firm undertaking the job is able to generate sufficient revenue for itself. For this, each pole would have a plate at a height of 2.5m for display of advertisement. The firm would be fully authorised to recover the charges of advertisements for the contract period,” said the urban development department official.

Citizens, too, are upbeat about the news of streetlights in their respective areas.

“Most of the neighbourhoods in Danapur have no streetlight poles and the streets are lit only in the Danapur Cantonment area, where several high mast lamps are installed. The new solar power-based streetlights are a good initiative but the authorities should keep proper vigil on their maintenance,” said Mukul Kumar, a Danapur resident.

However, residents need not worry much with the scheme as the selected firm would be liable to pay penalty in case of not following the complaints of citizens for non-functional streetlights.

The penalty would range from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 per incident.

The scheme is being implemented with the financial and technical support of Department for International Development (DFID), Government of United Kingdom- the support agency of state urban development department.

DFID is in a six-year partnership with the urban development department and it is undertaking Support Programme for Urban Reforms (SPUR) in Bihar. This scheme of solar LED streetlights also falls under the purview of SPUR.

As part of SPUR, DFID has agreed to provide technical assistance in social development, poverty alleviation and livelihoods in 28 towns of Bihar.

Moreover, the urban development department is responsible for implementation of all such schemes.