Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today announced a mega project to replace the existing street lamps in urban areas with LED lights, a move which would bring down electricity consumption to a great extent.

Reading out a statement under Rule 110 of the Assembly, she said civic bodies spend 25 per cent of their revenue to pay electricity bills. “In order to reduce the expenses, the Government led by me has decided to convert all street lights as LED lamps,” she said.

In the first phase, 10 city corporations, 19 municipalities in Tirupur zone and 18 municipalities in Thanjavur zone would get LED lamps. Also this year, Dindigul Corporation and the remaining all municipalities would be equipped with LED lamps. This would be implemented at a cost of Rs 320 crores, she said, adding that this would bring down the power bills of civic bodies by 35 per cent.

Under the Atal Scheme that was being implemented with the contribution of the Central and the State Governments, water development projects would be taken up at a cost of Rs 3,229.23 crores in Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Madurai, Tirupur, Thanjavur and Vellore city Corporations and Nagercoil, Rajapalayam, Ambur and Hosur Municipalities. She said underground drainage works would be carried out at Velankanni Town Panchayat at Rs. 23.32 crores.

Stating that her Government was giving top priority to cleanliness, the Chief Minister said solid waste management scheme would be implemented in Tiruchi Corporation and 36 municipalities at a cost of Rs. 116 crores.

Short stay homes would be constructed to help attendants and family members of patients getting treatment in government hospitals, the Chief Minister said. In the first phases, they would come up in Chennai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Krishnagiri, Salem, Virudhunagar, Thiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram, Dindigul and Coimbatore districts at a cost of Rs 11.62 crores.

In order to put an end to open defecation, 1,25,352 individual residential toilets would be constructed in urban areas at Rs 150.42 crores and community toilets at a cost of Rs 21.40 crores.

The ‘Sustainable Water Security Mission 2015’ announced by her last year would be extended to all urban areas at a cost of Rs. 20 crores, Jayalalithaa said.

Announcing various other projects, she said that these would improve the infrastructure of urban areas, besides paving way for cleanliness.