Delay in ₹1,341-Crore GHMC Tender Leaves Banjara Hills Streetlights Dark

A delay by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in floating a ₹1,341-crore street light maintenance tender has left over half the streetlights in Banjara Hills Road No. 12 and MLA Colony defunct or inadequate. The citywide crisis comes more than four months after the Telangana state government gave administrative sanction for the 10-year contract, and over a year since the previous maintenance contract expired.

According to a GHMC survey, more than 70% of Hyderabad’s LED streetlights and nearly all Centralised Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) boxes have reached the end of their service life. Without a fresh tender, replacement and repair works have remained in limbo.

The lack of maintenance has led to significant outages across the city. While residents in the IT corridor—including Kondapur, Osmannagar, Tellapur, and Nanakramguda—estimate that nearly 30% of their streetlights are dark, the situation is worse in pockets like Banjara Hills Road No. 12, MLA Colony, and Goshamahal, where residents report that over 50% of the lights are either defunct or failing to provide sufficient illumination.

Maintenance has been increasingly difficult since the municipal corporation's contract with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) expired more than a year ago. Lacking a dedicated maintenance agency, the GHMC has been struggling with shortages of LED fittings, drivers, and CCMS components, while inadequate manpower has further slowed repairs.

A senior official in the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department stated that the fresh tender, originally scheduled for June, will be floated within the next few days. The official added that there will be no further postponement, and works are expected to resume within the next two months.

The prolonged darkness has raised safety concerns among local communities. Ramana Eshwaragiri, president of the Tellapur Neighbourhood Association, noted that stretches between Gopanpally and Kollur, as well as Vattinagulapally and Osmannagar, have been dark for weeks, preventing women and senior citizens from walking after sunset and making it difficult for motorists to spot potholes.

Civic activists have called for a systematic replacement program. Harish Daga, a resident of Himayatnagar, emphasized that because most LED lights installed years ago are nearing the end of their life cycle, the three municipal corporations must expedite the pending tender before the outages expand further.