In an attempt to beautify the Capital in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has chalked out an ambitious project to upgrade street-lighting in Delhi at a cost of Rs.200 crore. In a statement on Tuesday, MCD Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Gupta said over 900 km of roads greater than 60 feet in width would be provided with ultra-modern streetlights based on international standards. "The lights and poles will be galvanised to prevent rusting. The new lights will illuminate a greater area and also reduce consumption of electricity due their energy-efficient technology. An automatic system of switching the lights on and off will enable monitoring of the lights from within the control rooms,' said Mr. Gupta. According to him, the lights will adhere to "IP68' specifications and will not be affected by dust, mosquitoes or moisture besides being metered.

While the residents of plotted colonies have been left to their fate, those living in condominiums are relatively better off. These compact residential blocks mostly have round-the-clock power back-up. But this comes at a price. In swanky apartment complexes like Hamilton Court, Windsor Place and Regency Park-II, residents pays 55 paise more per unit of electricity than what the state-owned DHBVN charges i.e around Rs 4.5 per unit. It is besides the monthly maintenance charge that they have to cough up. So, on an average, each unit of electricity costs about Rs 9 and can even go up to 18 at some places. The generators, with a maximum capacity of 7 MW, normally supply between 3.5 MW and 4 MW daily. They consume about 2,400 litres of diesel everyday. It's the same story at Silver Oaks, another apartment complex.