G.O.(Ms) No.11, Replacement of Street Lights with LED Lights in Rural Areas, 2016-17

What the government order does

Government Order (Ms) No. 11, issued by the Tamil Nadu Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (SGS-III) Department on 25 January 2017, approves the replacement of 8.22 lakh rural street lights with LED lights during 2016-17. The sanctioned amount is Rs.300 crore.

The programme covers existing tube lights, sodium lights and mercury lights. It is intended to reduce electricity consumption and maintenance costs, improve lighting and increase the working life of rural street lights.

Funding and allocation

Government Order (Ms) No. 11 provides the following funding:

• Rs.50 crore from Pooled Assigned Revenue.
• Rs.150 crore from the Fourteenth Finance Commission Grant.
• Rs.100 crore from the State Finance Commission Grant.

The Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj decides the district allocation based on the number of street lights available in each district. The District Collector and Chairman of the District Rural Development Agency identifies Village Panchayats and determines how many LED lights each Village Panchayat receives, based on the remaining lights requiring replacement.

Procurement and installation

The implementation guidelines assign responsibilities as follows:

• The District Collector is the district-level implementation authority and tender accepting authority.
• The Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency is the tender inviting authority.
• A District Level Committee handles procurement and monitors installation in Village Panchayats.
• Village Panchayats install the LED lights and continue operating and maintaining street lights.
• The Block Development Officer (Village Panchayats) monitors installation at block level.

District-level tenders must use the specifications and tender document finalised by the State Level Committee for the earlier LED street-lighting programme.

Disposal of replaced lights

Government Order (Ms) No. 11 requires replaced lights to be auctioned. The auction proceeds must be remitted to the relevant Village Panchayat and Panchayat Union heads, and a consolidated report must later be submitted to the government.

Relevance to property owners and buyers

Government Order (Ms) No. 11 concerns public street-light infrastructure in Village Panchayat areas. It may affect local street lighting near rural properties, but its provisions do not establish requirements for private land ownership, sale, registration or land use.