Many areas still in the dark as Hyderabad goes a year without streetlight agency

HYDERABAD: More than a year after the expiry of the previous maintenance contract and nearly three months after Hyderabad’s expansion from 650 sq km to 2,000 sq km under the tri-corporation system, the city continues to function without a dedicated agency for streetlight operations and maintenance.
The delay persists despite the state govt granting administrative sanction of Rs 1,341 crore to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for the comprehensive operation and maintenance of 7.6 lakh LED streetlights over 10 years. The project is aimed at ensuring uninterrupted illumination across the city and reducing downtime caused by non-functional streetlights.
In the absence of an appointed agency, several parts of the city continue to remain in darkness due to faulty or poorly functioning streetlights. While Hyderabad currently requires nearly seven lakh streetlights, fewer than five lakh were installed by the previous agency. Estimates suggest that around 20% to 30%of the existing lights are either non-functional or provide inadequate illumination.
According to officials from the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department, the previous agency’s contract ended on April 30, 2025, and multiple shortcomings were identified during its tenure. These included inadequate maintenance manpower, the absence of a dedicated team to maintain the Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS), a lack of cable replacement mechanisms, insufficient warehouses and vehicles, and adysfunctional IT monitoring system.
As an interim measure, GHMC has directed existing vendors to maintain adequate lighting stock, spare parts and buffer inventory at zonal levels to address priority complaints and ensure basic maintenance.
“We will call for tenders in the first week of June. The process was delayed as we instructed existing vendors to maintain the lights till June. We will appoint an agency in the same month for comprehensive maintenance of streetlights,” a senior MAUD official said.
According to the proposed tender conditions, the selected concessionaire will be required to replace all existing streetlights and CCMS boxes within six months. The agency will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the lighting network throughout the contract period.

Penalties
To improve accountability, the proposed system includes strict performance-based penalties. Contractors will be fined ₹100 per light per day if a streetlight remains non-functional, while faults in CCMS boxes will attract a penalty of₹1,500 per day.
The project will incorporate real-time monitoring through CCMS technology, enabling officials to track the operational status of streetlights, and detect issues such as power leakage, electricity theft and malfunctioning units. Any discrepancies identified through the system will have to be probed and rectified by the contractor.

TIMES VIEW: A city like Hyderabad that never sleeps urgently needs robust infrastructure to maintain and monitor streetlights. Many large MNCs work late into the night and it is important that their employees feel safe while going home at unearthly hours. Research has also found that well-lit streets not only check crimes like robbery and vehicle theft, they also reduce accidents as motorists can spot pedestrians and potholes more clearly. It is important to remember that ‘feeling safe’ is a key part of Hyderabad often being rated highly on liveability indexes and infrastructure like streetlights are integral to sustaining that tag