The Delhi government has approved a Rs 4.73 bn smart LED street light project to replace nearly 96,000 fixtures across the capital, aiming to improve road safety, remove dark spots and cut electricity use. The Expenditure Finance Committee, chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, cleared the proposal on May 20 and officials said the work will cover roads maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD). The project is slated for completion before Diwali and forms part of the 2026-27 Budget.

Under the scheme the administration will replace existing high-pressure sodium vapour lights and older LED fittings with advanced smart LED systems equipped with real-time monitoring. Officials provided counts indicating about 45,000 conventional HPSV street lights and nearly 51,000 older LED lights currently on PWD roads, with more than 51,000 poles in the network. The plan will also add 5,000 poles to illuminate uncovered and poorly lit stretches and standardise fixtures across the city.

A centralised Command and Control Centre will be established to monitor every street light in real time, enabling immediate detection of faults and remote operation of fixtures. The system will permit adjustment of lighting intensity as required, with brightness able to be raised or reduced by up to 90 per cent to conserve power and extend equipment life. Officials indicated the smart network should speed up repairs and reduce dependence on citizen reports to identify outages.

City leaders said the project is expected to strengthen public safety, particularly for women, by improving visibility on roads and reducing accident risks. The administration estimated annual savings of Rs 250 mn in power expenses once the network is fully implemented and suggested maintenance costs will fall, producing substantial savings over the next five years compared with the current arrangement. PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh urged that the initiative be given a special name to reflect its scale and importance, a suggestion accepted by the Chief Minister although the name has not been announced.