AMC’s 15cr streetlight project blinks at failure

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) ambitious Smart City Project is facing several challenges as smart controllers installed on streetlights have been failing to deliver promised results. Despite a hefty investment of Rs 15 crore, the system continues to malfunction, particularly in the western and old city areas. Even if the lights are out, the control room is not notified, and complaints from citizens are not resolved regularly.
In 2017-18, AMC invested Rs 12 crore to install smart controllers on 14,200 streetlights in the western area. The project aimed to optimize electricity usage, prevent theft and connect all streetlights to a command control system. However, the execution is ridden with problems with lights operating inefficiently — they turn on an hour before sunset and remaining lit until an hour after sunrise during summer.

The corporation spent an additional Rs 3.72 crore in 2021 to install 3,500 controllers in the old city area, notably without a tender process. The smart controllers, designed to automatically manage lighting schedules and report malfunctions to the control room, have largely failed to meet these objectives.
Similar issues plague the riverfront, where smart controllers installed by the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. (SRFDCL) are not functioning as intended. Citizens must file complaints for any action to be taken, defeating the system's purpose of proactive maintenance.
The situation is further complicated by the expiration of AMC's five-year maintenance contract for over 200,000 streetlights. With no new tender finalized, the corporation has resorted to assigning maintenance work to different contractors without formal bidding processes, despite GPMC Act requirements for prompt resolution of lighting issues — 24 hours for main roads and 48 hours for other roads.
On June 20, 2024, AMC approved a Rs 3.16 crore proposal for new decorative streetlights along the 132-foot ring road. Ironically, these new installations will replace the existing lights equipped with smart controllers and will not include smart technology.
These developments raise questions about the effectiveness of the Smart City Project's implementation and the judicious use of public funds in Ahmedabad's urban infrastructure development.
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7,980 complaints a month on average
Despite installing smart controllers, complaints about non-functioning streetlights have only increased. In the past five years, there were 4,78,072 online complaints about non-functioning streetlight poles, making it 7,980 complaints per month on average. Of these, 1,02,411 complaints, the highest are from the South Zone, 94,853 from the West Zone and 58,312 from the East Zone.
There are currently 2,13,000 streetlight poles in Ahmedabad. Although maintenance was outsourced to a private company, the tender expired four months ago, and a new one has not been finalised. As a result, maintenance is not being conducted properly, leading to an increase in complaints.