1 hr ago
BEST Committee Defers Worli Poles, Seeks Local Designs
BEST wants to install many new streetlight poles in Worli, Mumbai.
The plan would cost about ₹2.50 crore.
The committee paused the plan instead of approving it immediately.
Members want the poles to look different from ordinary silver poles used across the city.
They said the designs should show what makes Worli special.
One suggestion was to include designs connected to Worli’s fishing history.
The committee also wants to check the quality of the work and the company making the poles.
It says any artistic design must still provide good light and keep people safe.
The BEST Committee deferred a proposal to install 1,450 streetlight poles in Worli.
The installation was estimated to cost around ₹2.50 crore, with gross tender rates of ₹2.38 crore.
Committee members asked for designs reflecting Worli’s local character, including its fishing heritage.
Officials were asked to provide details about work quality and the shortlisted manufacturer.
The committee wants aesthetic changes to preserve adequate lighting, safety and functionality.
- Who
- The BEST Committee, its administration, and committee members including Trushna Vishwasrao and Ramakant Gupta.
- What
- The committee deferred a proposal to install 1,450 conventional streetlight poles and requested locally inspired designs and additional project details.
- Where
- Worli, Mumbai.
- When
- The proposal was deferred on Friday; the articles do not specify the date.
- Why
- Committee members want streetlights to reflect local identity while maintaining adequate illumination, quality and safety.
Local Character and Design
Uniform Functionality and Safety
How the poles should look
Local Character and Design
Committee members want streetlight designs to reflect the history and identity of each neighbourhood, with Worli’s fishing heritage offered as an example.
Uniform Functionality and Safety
The proposal currently involves conventional poles, and the committee stressed that redesigns should not compromise basic lighting, quality or safety.
Whether to proceed immediately
Local Character and Design
The committee deferred the proposal so the administration can rethink the designs and provide more information about the shortlisted manufacturer and work quality.
Uniform Functionality and Safety
The installation plan addresses the city’s functional lighting needs, including recent changes to illumination and lux levels after complaints about poor lighting.
Key facts
- Number of poles
- 1,450 proposed streetlight poles
- Estimated cost
- Approximately ₹2.50 crore
- Gross tender rate
- ₹2.38 crore, reported as 6.66% higher than estimated rates
- Pole breakdown
- 250 nine-metre poles, 1,100 seven-metre poles and 100 nine-metre zinc-plated poles
- Proposed design theme
- A design reflecting Worli’s fishing heritage was suggested
- Citywide streetlights
- BEST has more than 30,000 streetlights across Mumbai’s island city
- Earlier beautification effort
- The BMC installed colourful butterfly- and bird-shaped streetlights in 2023, some of which were later replaced
Quotes
Ramakant Gupta
Member of the BEST Committee
“Mumbai being a global city needs to rethink the aesthetics and design of streetlights. Each area in the city and suburbs has its own character, and that local touch is important. The design should reflect the identity of the place where the pole is installed.”
freepressjournal.in
“Worli has been a fishermen’s area, so the design can depict that identity. It can be something similar to the way other Indian cities have used designs such as a conch or damru.”
freepressjournal.in
Trushna Vishwasrao
Chairperson of the BEST Committee
“There is a scope of reimagining the shapes and design of these streetlight poles. We have asked the administration to come up with it. We have also asked to inspect the quality of work and other details of the shortlisted company.”
freepressjournal.in







