Neither here nor there: Bengaluru’s LED streetlighting plan fails to turn on

The BBMP’s way of managing streetlights has not only failed in changing existing lights to LEDs but also left vast parts of Bengaluru in darkness, creating a fertile ground for accidents and crimes.

It was in 2018 that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) came up with a plan to change all streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs. More than three years later, the project has moved only so far that just 2% of the lights have been changed.

The contract was awarded to Bangalore Streetlighting Private Limited (BSPL), a consortium of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited, SMC Infrastructure Private Limited and Samudra Electronics Systems Private Limited, under public-private partnership in 2018.