MCD will provide CFL bulbs to slumdwellers to cut power bills

Committee chairman Yogender Chandolia announced that the MCD will be spending Rs 5 lakh this year towards the scheme. The civic agency plans to spend Rs 10 crore for the project next year. There are 40 lakh people residing in such colonies who will benefit from the scheme. A CFL bulb costs around 100 times more than a normal light bulb,which consumes more electricity.

“Due to increase in tariff,people living in JJ clusters and unauthorised colonies have to pay huge electricity bills. We will soon be distributing CFL bulbs among them,” said Chandolia.

The final system of distribution is being chalked out and will be implemented soon. “We might give one bulb per family member or else one bulb per room,” he added. Alternatively,the MCD might set up camps where slumdwellers can bring their old bulbs for replacement. The Delhi government,meanwhile,is discouraging the use of CFL bulbs as they pose health risks when not disposed of properly as they contain mercury. Environmental agencies have also been raising the red flag against use of CFL. The government is also in discussion with power distribution companies (discoms) on the possibility of marketing LED lights to promote their use not just in households but also in shops,commercial areas,streetlights and advertising. According to experts,while LED lights are expensive,but they last for almost 20 years and the also help reduce the electricity bill to almost half.

The government is considering providing LED bulbs through discoms,where the cost of the bulb will be added to the electricity bill. “Since use of LED bulbs will reduce the electricity bill,the consumer will not feel the pinch of buying it,” said an official.