Why is govt. not using technology to reduce power wastage?

26 October, 2012

The aim of technology should always be better utilization of available resources with minimum environmental degradation. When street lights of our residential area (Sadiq Nagar, South Delhi) were found lit up even after daylight, my blood boiled out of fury. My head turned into a tizzy by imagining the sheer wastage of electricity on such account.

IT WAS only during the Commonwealth Games in 2010 that Delhi was decked up in terms of more civic amenities - only to lift our head before foreign dignitaries.

By that time, automated server-based street lighting system was introduced, but could not be implemented fully. Now, South Delhi Municipal Corporation is all set to revive the project for implementation of automated streetlights in its areas, which is a welcome step as it drastically reduce the electricity bill from Rs. 160 crores to Rs.100 crores. Digitization of the streetlights will accurately calculate the consumption of electricity and hence reduce the bill.

Technology will help to identify the malfunctioned street lights immediately and facilitate automatic meter reading. The remote controlled lighting system will function automatically depending on sunrise and sunset, which has far-reaching implications in saving electricity and prevent unwanted wastage.

When such technology is available, why is the government lagging behind till date in adopting such technology in our cities and towns - is the million dollar question?

A mechanistic view will not solve the problems. The leaders should take things at micro level and the implementation mechanism should be ruthlessly tight so that the precious resources are not wasted. Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Indian Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure, rightly commented that in India, you don't need any talent to identify problems; equally also you don't need to have talent for solutions. What you need is courage, the confidence to go forward, and the guts to get it done against all odds.

As long as financial propriety is maintained while spending public money, there is no need to hit the panic button. However, target oriented work to provide a quality life to people is the responsibility of rulers. When this happens, we are not far away in making India a developed India by 2020, the vision of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, our former President of India who literally ignited the young to accomplish his cherished dream for which he drew a blueprint.