Madurai Corporation will soon introduce energy saving equipment like solar panels and LED street lights across all 100 wards.
A bio-methane gas plant is also on the cards.
Area Based Development (ABD) zone – spanning across 15 wards- will be funded through the Central government’s Smart City Mission. The other wards will be covered through public private partnerships.
Under the Smart City Mission, approximately 7,500 lights in the ABD area will be replaced with LED lights. The project is expected to cost a total of ₹5 crore. There are 52,384 lights of various types including- sodium vapour lamps, tube lights, compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and LED lights in all the wards.
The energy saving would be improved by at least 40 per cent, thus preventing unnecessary energy dispersion and expenditure.
The Corporation is also looking to invest in renewable energy like solar power.
All buildings owned by the Corporation including maternity homes, schools, tax collection centres, Primary Health Centres, bus shelters and overhead water tanks will soon have solar panel installations.
The project is expected to cost ₹20 crore
The seat of the Corporation is already using solar energy, thus helping in energy saving. They are formulating a plan to incentivize these installation even in residential areas.
A bio-methane gas plant at a cost of approximately ₹7 crore will be installed in Vellakkal and will process hotel and market waste. The main aim of the project is to safeguard the environment and promote scientific disposal. “One tonne of garbage can produce 30 kgs of biomethane. The plan is to process at least 50 tonnes of waste per day.