Sambalpur: The civic body has barely made any progress in replacing the old street lights with LED bulbs here, three years after conducting a survey for the purpose.

The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation planned to 4,800 street lights with LED bulbs following the survey in three towns under the civic body - Sambalpur, Burla, Hirakud - and 12 panchayats in the first phase.

The state government also released a first allotment of Rs 3.60 crore for the purpose earlier this year. The civic body entrusted a private company to complete the installation and maintain the lights for the next seven years.

In the second phase, 14,000 light points would be required according to an estimate provided by the civic body to the government, official sources said. Around 18,000 street lights were to be installed in Sambalpur town alone in phases, the sources said, citing the estimate provided by the civic body. "But not a single light has been installed in rural areas," Charpur resident Narayan Naik said.

"We are totally in the dark. The authorities had promised many things before including the villages under the municipal corporation jurisdiction. However, there has been no substantial development in villages," he said. However, some important streets such as Kacheri Road, Budharaja, and Ring Road in Sambalpur town have got the new LED bulbs.

A civic official said: "We are making all efforts to replace the total lighting system with LED bulbs. Work is under process to shift the poles by installing new poles in the main street from Jail Chowk to Mudipada Chowk."

According to the civic body estimate, Rs 20 crore would be spent to replace the street lights in Sambalpur, Hirakud and Burla, he said.