The light has virtually gone out for the city's traffic signal system.

Call it bad planning or a problem of plenty, the administration is mulling stopping operation of two traffic signals - one on Beer Chand Patel Path and the other on Serpentine Road - as the traffic police have received several complaints of unnecessary snarls owing to the presence of the signals.

On January 21, six traffic signals on Kargil Chowk, JP roundabout, R-Block, the Satmurti area, the Chitkohra area and Patel roundabout, were switched off on the orders of Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor.

While the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (BUIDCo), the implementing agency, blamed Patna police for poor planning, Kishor defended the decision. He said the signals might not be useful now but could be used in future .

Kishor told The Telegraph on Friday that a review on the two signals was in progress. "We are acting upon people's complaints. Earlier, they had suggested shutting down the signals at the six points, saying the traffic situation had worsened after their installation. We then appointed an executive engineer, who carried out an investigation and based on the report, the signals were shut down. Now, complaints about the signals at two more points, the one in front of the BJP office on Beer Chand Patel Marg and the other along Serpentine Road, have come and the same process is being followed. Based on the report, the fate of the signals will be decided. All the signals will be shut for a period of six months after which their utility will be reviewed again," Kishor said.

Last year, BUIDCo had been given the job to install 97 traffic signals at different parts of Patna. The total cost of the project rests at Rs 25 crore. Until now, 48 signals are functional out of the 60 installed.

BUIDCo officials put the blame on the police alleging them of poor planning, adding that the number of signals had now been reduced from the earlier 97 to 88 now. "We are just the implementing agency. The traffic police are just trying to divert the matter. The signals are for traffic regulation. The spots in which the signals would be installed were decided not by us but by the traffic police. It was the superintendent of police (traffic) who had finalised the spots. Some days back, the officer said some signals that been shut down needed to get functional again. We have asked him to give it in writing. The police should have planned things before asking us to install the lights. Why don't the cops encourage proper lane driving and infuse a traffic sense among people? If the police create awareness about lane driving, the signals will not lead to snarls. They (the cops) are not doing their job properly," a BUIDCo official told The Telegraph.

On December 17 last year, SP (traffic) P.K. Das passed an order under which all public vehicles would have to move along the left lane on important roads. The private vehicles would have to move on the right lane. However, just a week after the order was passed, deputy inspector-general (central range) Shalin annulled it saying the state capital was not ready for lane driving yet.

Earlier, Das had said that one should not take the issue of discontinuing with some traffic signals negatively and had refused to comment.

Attempts to contact the SP (traffic) proved futile as the officer was on leave.

Kishor said: "At this point of time, there is no need of signals at all points. The aim is to streamline the traffic. If traffic is moving fine at some places without those, it is good. I wouldn't call it a lack of planning. Like in all cities, the number of vehicles will increase with time. These are state-of -the-art devices. The plan is futuristic and the signals might be needed later."