Jagananna Pallevelugu to be launched on March 31

Vijayawada: In a significant move, the State government is going to roll out the flagship programme of 'Jagananna Pallevelugu' on March 31 to transfer the maintenance of LED street lighting to gram panchayats in rural areas as part of revolutionary decision taken up by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to make all government services available in villages and address the needs of people in no time.

The government wants to revamp the street lighting programme by ensuring that non-glowing lights are restored in 48 hours of the receipt of complaints. Earlier, the State government issued orders to transfer operation, repair and maintenance of energy efficient LED street lights project from Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and Non Conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (NREDCAP) to village secretariats.

"The reason behind this decision is to address the complaints on LED street lighting quickly and empower village panchayat system," said Principal Secretary of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Gopalakrishna Dwivedi on Sunday.

He said 23.29 lakh LED lights were installed by EESL in 10,382 villages. He said preparations are underway to install another four lakh LED street lights in gram panchayats in the State by 2023. He said the Panchayat Raj department will utilise the services of around 7,000 energy assistants in coordination with power Discoms for maintenance of street lights. The department will also utilise the services of around 2 lakh village volunteers in identifying and reporting of non-glowing LED street light complaints to village secretariats. The EESL conducted training programme to village secretariat staff on maintenance of streetlights.

The Panchayat Raj and Rural Development department will develop a comprehensive web portal for handling and monitoring the LED street lights complaints. The AP State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation Limited (APSEEDCO), a joint venture of AP power utilities, is responsible for distribution of spares from divisional level to panchayat level for smooth transfer of repair and maintenance activities and further monitoring of the project.

Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy while addressing the officials of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development described the transfer of maintaining LED streetlights to village panchayats as another 'revolutionary step' by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy who wants the government to be present at the doorsteps of the people.

The Minister further said that the government wants to revamp and strengthen the LED streetlights project because of its key role in improving quality of life and living standards of people.

The improved light quality would enhance safety, security and visual comfort in villages, he said. It is estimated that the LED street lighting programme will help the village panchayats to cumulatively save around 260 million units of electricity annually worth Rs 156 crore.

Jagananna Palle Velugu programme will be launched on March 31 evening in all district headquarters and three mandal headquarters in each district. State Ministers and senior officials will participate in the prestigious programme.