• Safety and security of lakhs of residents compromised due to passing of responsibility by Govt. Agencies
• The maintenance of streetlights costs the company ₹ 70 lakhs per month
•The company has written to the GNCTD, Power Ministry, Secretary, Urban Development, Delhi Police Commissioner and for their intervention
North Delhi residents, especially those residing in unauthorised areas, have to wade through dark streets due to non-payment of approximately Rs. 22 crores pertaining to maintenance charges of over 65000 street lights by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation(DSIIDC) to Tata Power-DDL.
We all know that street lights act as a deterrent to crime and promote a sense of security among communities. However, due to the outstanding payments from the last 32 months, Tata Power-DDL is unable to maintain these street lights installed in several unauthorised colonies in North and North West Delhi from tomorrow i.e. October 15, 2020. This may lead to unsafe conditions for lakhs of residents, especially senior citizens, women and children.
It is noteworthy here that the maintenance of street lights in unauthorized areas costs the company (Tata Power-DDL) approx. ₹70 lakhs per month and the continuous non-payment of the invoices raised by us resulted in accumulation of huge arrears.
Expressing concern over the same, Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO, Tata Power-DDL said, ‘TATA Power-DDL has always focussed on assuring the best of services to its consumers while prioritizing their safety. The non-payment of dues is severely hampering the regular maintenance of the street lights which will cause inconvenience to the consumers as well as other citizens. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative for the authorities to provide us the necessary support in maintaining these street lights, otherwise these areas will witness darkness, making them unsafe for public. I strongly appeal to the government to intervene and help resolve the issue by directing DSIIDC to release the due payment at the earliest.”
In the past few months, the company has written several letters to all concerned authorities including the Power Ministry, Department of Urban Development, GNCTD for their kind intervention for timely resolution of the issue and immediate release of payment. The company has also informed the Delhi Police Commissioner about the proposed switching off of the street light and possible unsafe situations arising out of the same.