Kochi Corporation orders probe into ₹6.32-crore streetlight maintenance expenditure in 2022-23
The Kochi Corporation has ordered an investigation into a ₹6.32-crore expenditure on streetlight maintenance during the 2022-23 fiscal year. Officials are also auditing the installation and maintenance of LED lights managed by the Cochin Smart Mission Limited.
Why it matters
This probe highlights concerns over municipal financial accountability and the operational efficiency of smart city infrastructure projects.
The Kochi Corporation has spent ₹49.56 crore over the 14 years between 2011-12 and 2025-26 on the repair and maintenance of nearly 76,000 streetlights.
The UDF-led Corporation council has now ordered a probe into the expenditure of ₹6.32 crore incurred in the 2022-23 financial year during the tenure of the previous LDF council. This was ₹1.39 crore more than ₹4.92 crore, the second-largest spend during the period, recorded the very next year.
“We have asked the Superintendenting Engineer and the Additional Secretary to submit a report on the matter at the next council meeting. A survey will also be conducted to verify the number of LED lights that Cochin Smart Mission Limited [CSML] claimed to have installed under the City LED Street Light project last year, and to assess the number of old lights that remain to be replaced,” said Mayor V.K. Minimol.
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