2 weeks Ago
As legislators from across the state have prioritised infrastructure and public amenities with a strong preference for lighting and road solutions in their constituencies, streetlights have emerged as the most demanded project under the Vidhayak Nidhi in Uttar Pradesh for the 2024-25 fiscal. According to the official data available on the rural development department’s official website, streetlighting projects topped the list with a total of over 14,000 installations, including 9.79K high-mast lights, 3.
15K solar lights and 1.48K other streetlights. During the year, MLAs recommended a total 32,224 works/projects of different nature and of them 19,645 projects were sanctioned.
The streetlights, thus, accounted for a total 43.45% of the recommended works and 71.26% of the sanctioned works.
Interestingly, high mast lights (powerful flood lights that illuminate large areas) emerged on the top of the list of projects accounting for 30% of the total work projects recommended by legislators for their constituencies. Distantly following is the demand for interlocking road construction and drainage systems, which accounted for 3.28 K projects, highlighting the focus on better road infrastructure.
Other notable projects included CC roads (2.81K), road and drainage (1,74 K), building construction (1.12 K), electricity works (1.
04K), drinking water (992) and welcome gates (891). Among smaller projects, demand for shadow structures, boundary walls, beautification works and other public amenities like hand pumps has also been observed. According to deputy commissioner, rural development, MP Yadav, it is the first time when the department has collected information with regard to works under the Vidhyak Nidhi in this format at headquarters level.
“As per the details collected by us, the highest number of work recommendations from MLAs were for streetlights, particularly, high-mast reason, followed by interlocking road. Earlier, the maximum demand would be for CC and interlocking roads,” he said. The one possible reason for demand for streetlights, according to him, could be availability of adequate electricity even in rural areas and people’s craving for visibility and safety.
Ramveer Singh, MLA from Kundarki, said, “Demand for work differed from place to place. At some places, people demand lighting solutions at others they need roads and other amenities.” BR Ambedkar, a former BSP MLC, said no doubt more and more streetlights were being installed in villages on locals’ demand.
“But as far as the demand for expensive high-mast lights is concerned, it has been largely created by contractors and suppliers for obvious reasons rather than the public,” he said. In Uttar Pradesh, each MLA/MLC gets ₹ 5 crore per annum to get works done in their constituencies. In the financial year 2024-25, the government sanctioned funds worth ₹ 2,581 crore under the Vidhayak Nidhi.
The projects worth ₹ 1,256.51 crore were sanctioned by the end of the financial year. And of total 19,645 sanctioned works, only 1,132 were complete with the remaining were in progress.
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