Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government is trying to expand development culture based on decentralisation. “We are giving the message that Kerala stands for development and not for controversies,” he said while speaking after inaugurating ‘Nilav’ project, which will see the complete conversion of street lights to LEDs.
As part of Nilav, LEDs will replace the millions of traditional streetlights in the state. Pinarayi Vijayan said that the visionary project was launched with the objective of energy conservation and mitigation of environmental impact.
665 panchayats and 48 municipalities to come in first phase
Nilav Scheme
Nilav’ scheme, implemented by the Local Self Governments, will help to avoid energy loss in power supply and additional cost incurred. It is implemented as part of the Chief Minister’s 12-point program. There are about 16.24 lakh streetlights in Kerala. Of these over 10.5 lakh are using conventional electric bulbs. This results in large amounts of energy loss and additional costs. Replacing all these with LED bulbs will make the streetlights brighter and more durable. The project, to be implemented with the assistance of KIFB at a cost of Rs 289.82 crore, will achieve the target within two months, the Chief Minister said. The State Electricity Board is entrusted with the task of implementing the project. They will collaborate with the local bodies in this. In the first phase, 665 panchayats and 48 municipalities will come under the scheme.
Local Bodies
Vijayan said that the Local Bodies were implementing other schemes under the 12-point programme effectively.
The resources of the country should be fully utilized. The new governing body in the local bodies should be active in implementing the programmes, he said. The government focused on ensuring that there is no lapse in development activities.
The Chief Minister asserted for building a new Kerala.
