The ambitious Rs 15 crore streetlight upgrade in Ahmedabad, part of the city’s Smart City initiative, is facing multiple issues that raise concerns about the effectiveness of the project.
Despite substantial investments, the smart controllers installed across the city have not delivered on their promises, resulting in frequent malfunctions and an increasing number of complaints from citizens. Launched with the aim of optimizing energy consumption, preventing theft, and enabling real-time monitoring of streetlight functionality, the system has failed to perform as expected. Streetlights in key areas, especially the western and old city zones, continue to operate inefficiently, turning on earlier than required and staying lit longer than necessary, even during the summer months. This inefficiency not only wastes energy but also highlights the flaws in the execution of the project.
In 2017-18, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) spent Rs 12 crore to install smart controllers on 14,200 streetlights across the western part of the city. The primary goal was to optimize electricity usage and connect all streetlights to a central command system, allowing for remote management. However, reports indicate that despite this significant investment, many of the lights continue to operate outside the designated timings, with the system failing to notify the control room of faults. In 2021, an additional Rs 3.72 crore was allocated for the installation of 3,500 more smart controllers in the old city. However, these installations were made without a tender process, which has raised further concerns over the transparency of the project. While the smart controllers were designed to manage lighting schedules autonomously and notify the control room in case of malfunctions, they have not met the set objectives.
These technical failures have not only impacted energy savings but also created a logistical nightmare for the city’s maintenance teams. The Sabarmati Riverfront, another key area within Ahmedabad, is facing similar challenges, where the smart controllers installed by the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. (SRFDCL) are not functioning as intended. Citizens have to submit complaints before any action is taken, effectively defeating the purpose of a proactive maintenance system. Adding to the complexity, the five-year maintenance contract for over 200,000 streetlights has expired, and AMC has yet to finalise a new tender. In the absence of a formal bidding process, the maintenance work has been assigned to different contractors. This has led to inconsistent maintenance, with increasing numbers of complaints from residents.
Figures from the past five years illustrate the extent of the problem. On average, 7,980 complaints per month have been filed regarding non-functioning streetlights. The total number of complaints stands at 4,78,072, with the highest number reported from the South Zone (102,411 complaints), followed by the West Zone (94,853 complaints) and the East Zone (58,312 complaints). This volume of complaints highlights the inefficiency in addressing the maintenance needs of the streetlight infrastructure. The lack of prompt resolution is a breach of the guidelines outlined under the Gujarat Public Maintenance Contract (GPMC) Act, which mandates that streetlight issues on main roads should be addressed within 24 hours, and those on other roads within 48 hours. Yet, with no clear system in place, these guidelines are not being adhered to, contributing to the growing dissatisfaction among residents.
Despite these setbacks, AMC has recently approved a Rs 3.16 crore proposal to install new decorative streetlights along the 132-foot ring road. This move has raised eyebrows, especially since these new installations will replace the existing lights that are equipped with smart controllers, yet the new lights will not feature any smart technology. This decision, critics argue, could be seen as a step backward, undermining the city’s broader goals of sustainability and energy efficiency. The ongoing challenges of the streetlight project have raised broader questions about the effectiveness and transparency of Ahmedabad’s Smart City initiatives. With public funds at stake, there is growing concern about whether these investments are being used judiciously and whether the promised technological advancements are truly serving the city’s needs.
The situation also brings into focus the larger issue of the city’s energy usage and its commitment to sustainability. With the world increasingly moving toward carbon-neutral cities, the failure of a project designed to optimize energy consumption is concerning. Smart technologies, such as streetlight controllers, are considered essential in reducing a city’s carbon footprint. However, when these technologies do not function as intended, they not only waste energy but also undermine the efforts to build eco-friendly, sustainable urban spaces. Experts suggest that improving the performance of such systems requires a more robust monitoring mechanism and better integration between technology and city management. Instead of relying on a reactive approach, where citizens must file complaints to trigger action, experts propose that a more proactive system be put in place that can detect and fix issues automatically. Moreover, to truly make a difference, such projects must incorporate the principles of energy efficiency, sustainability, and equitable access, ensuring that all residents benefit from the advancements in urban infrastructure.
While the ambitions of Ahmedabad’s Smart City Project are commendable, the current challenges faced by the streetlight initiative are a stark reminder of the gap between planning and execution. With the city’s streetlight system in need of a major overhaul, authorities must take a hard look at their approach to urban infrastructure development and ensure that future investments are both effective and transparent. Only then can Ahmedabad hope to achieve its goal of becoming a sustainable, smart, and inclusive city.
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