Delhi govt takes action over street light malfunctions, serves showcause notices to 5 engineers

Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Atishi has issued show cause notices to five engineers responsible for the non-functional street lights across various areas of the national capital, as confirmed by officials on Monday.

The notices, dispatched on Friday, targeted four engineers in south Delhi and one in northwest Delhi. During a review prompted by the PWD minister on December 7, it was discovered that only 7,612 out of 7,742 street lights under the jurisdiction of one executive were operational.

Expressing serious concern, the minister directed the engineer to personally address the issue and ensure that the dysfunctional streetlights are operational by Sunday (December 10), with a compliance report due by Monday.

“Some of the street lights are non-functional for a long time which has also been criticised in news media. This has been viewed very seriously by the minister and senior officers.

“Since you have taken over the charge on December 2, you are hereby advised to look into this matter personally and ensure that streetlight are functional by Sunday (December 10) positively. A compliance report submitted to this office by Monday (December 11),” the notice stated.

A similar notice was issued to the northwest Delhi engineer, urging an explanation for the non-functional state of 10,611 out of 11,072 street lights within his purview, with a one-week deadline for a reply.