CSML initially installed around 3,300 smart, energy-efficient lights three years ago, followed by another 40,000 under the Pan City LED Street Light project last year, at a total cost of over ₹35 crore. File.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Kochi Corporation has spent ₹49.56 crore over the 14 years between 2011-12 and 2025-26 on the repair and maintenance of nearly 76,000 streetlights.
The UDF-led Corporation council has now ordered a probe into the expenditure of ₹6.32 crore incurred in the 2022-23 financial year during the tenure of the previous LDF council. This was ₹1.39 crore more than ₹4.92 crore, the second-largest spend during the period, recorded the very next year.
“We have asked the superintending engineer and the Additional Secretary to submit a report on the matter at the next council meeting. A survey will also be conducted to verify the number of LED lights that Cochin Smart Mission Limited [CSML] claimed to have installed under the City LED Street Light project last year and to assess the number of old lights that remain to be replaced,” said Mayor V.K. Minimol.
A report on the expenditure towards street light repair and maintenance was tabled at the council meeting on Wednesday (July 15, 2026).
Councillors across political lines have consistently criticised the alleged slackness in the operation and maintenance of LED lights installed by CSML. The agency initially installed around 3,300 smart, energy-efficient lights three years ago, followed by another 40,000 under the Pan City LED Street Light project last year, at a total cost of over ₹35 crore. Two separate agencies have since been entrusted with the operation and maintenance of these lights for five years, at the Corporation’s expense.
Incidentally, the maintenance cost of streetlights registered a dramatic fall from ₹4.28 crore in 2024-25 to a mere ₹4.29 lakh in 2025-26, coinciding with the launch of the Pan City LED Street Light project. “However, that does not reflect the operation and maintenance of those LED lights, which is now the Corporation’s responsibility,” Ms. Minimol clarified.
There remains no clarity on the number of old streetlights yet to be replaced. By rough estimates, the Corporation has about 76,000 streetlights, and after deducting the LED lights installed by CSML, some 30,000-odd conventional ones remain. These include a mix of CFL bulbs, tube lights, LED panels, and old steel tube panels.
“The biggest challenge in maintaining CSML’s LED lights is the dependence on the Kerala State Electricity Board [KSEB]. Often, the lights in an area fall under multiple transformers, all of which need to be switched off for maintenance. But KSEB officials often switch off only a few, leaving the work incomplete. Moreover, KSEB officials are unavailable between the 1st and 5th of every month as they would be busy with billing operations,” said Henry Austin, UDF councillor.
Published – July 16, 2026 08:03 pm IST
