Mumbai street light poles planned for Worli will not be purchased in their current form after the BEST committee deferred a proposal for 1,450 standard poles and asked the administration to reconsider their design. The proposal involved an estimated expenditure of about Rs 2.50 crore.
The decision was taken at a BEST committee meeting on Friday, where members argued that the poles should not be limited to a standard silver-coloured design. They suggested that street furniture could reflect the identity of different neighbourhoods across Mumbai.
BEST committee chairperson Trishna Vishwasrao said the design and size of the poles could be developed afresh. The administration has been asked to bring a new proposal and examine the quality of work and other details of the shortlisted company before the procurement is reconsidered.
The proposal for Worli included 250 zinc-plated poles measuring nine metres, 1,100 poles measuring seven metres and another 100 nine-metre poles. The committee discussion also raised the possibility of using designs associated with local cultural identities. BEST member Ramakant Gupta suggested that Worli’s connection with its fishing community could be reflected in the design of the poles, with motifs such as a conch or damru considered as examples.
BEST already operates more than 30,000 street lights in Mumbai’s Island City. The utility has recently made changes to lighting levels and lux power after receiving complaints about inadequate illumination in some areas. The proposed Worli procurement was therefore linked to both the replacement or addition of street-light infrastructure and the design standards adopted for public roads.
The deferred proposal will return to the BEST committee after the administration reviews the design, the shortlisted company’s work quality and other procurement details. No revised design or fresh timeline was announced in the report.
