Refuses to step into the LED lights row, but says BMC, IIT-B and citizens’ groups will work together to identify Mumbai’s dark spots.Amid the row over installation of LED lights on Marine Drive, which residents say has become scarier after removal of sodium-vapour lamps, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Thursday that a detailed survey would be conducted to check street illumination levels across Mumbai.The survey would be carried out by the BMC with the help of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and citizens’ groups, Fadnavis told the state legislative assembly.Ameet Satam, BJP legislator from Andheri (W), raised the issue of poor street lighting, which the police have linked to a spurt in crime, in the House.Fadnavis did not comment on the Marine Drive controversy, but said that LED lights would be installed on roads across the city and the state.For the past nine months, Mumbai Mirror has been highlighting the problems caused by poor street illumination in the city - and by the ad hoc manner in which the BMC has been switching from sodium-vapour lamps to LED lights.Apart from Marine Drive, new lights have also been installed on JJ flyover. Residents in both these areas say that the new lights may be energy efficient, but they do not cover all the dark spots. Fadnavis did not acknowledge the growing public opposition to LED lights, but said that a comprehensive study was needed to identify the city’s dark spots.“The BMC will conduct a detailed lux level survey across the city. The survey will be done through IIT-B and will also involve citizens’ groups,” he said.Mirror had reported last month that poor street lighting from Bandra to Andheri had prompted the police to take the unusual step of writing about the issue to the civic authority. DCP (zone IX) Satyanarayan Chaudhary said in the letter that poor illumination in residential areas had resulted in an increasing number of “anti-social elements” indulging in petty crimes at night. Efforts to make the streets safer for women had also been affected.Satam said that a citizen-led survey had revealed last year that street illumination levels were 30 per cent below the required mark. Illumination by streetlights is measured in lux unit. Depending on the road width, streetlights should provide illumination of 8 to 15 lux units.“We had been fighting a lone battle. But it’s good that the chief minister has intervened,” Satam said.The Andheri (W) MLA sat on a week-long hunger strike in January last year to demand better street lighting. Following the protest, Municipal Commissioner Sitaran Kunte said that the BMC would conduct a city-wide survey to identify dark spots. The survey, however, was not conducted.While Fadnavis admitted that illumination levels were low on some streets, he denied that it was leading to a spurt in crime. “The BMC surveyed the locations and found that lighting was low in some places. Crimes are not on the rise only due to low illumination. LED lighting is part of the national policy and will lead to a lot of energy saving,” he said.A recent survey of Marine Drive by Shiv Sena corporator Avkash Jadhav had revealed that the sharp focus of the LED lights has led to several dark sections of the stretch of road. Residents had complained that the new lights do not illuminate the street sufficiently - the yellow lamps installed earlier cast their glow as far as the sea, the have claimed. The Sena had demanded that the BMC replace white LEDs with yellow ones or sodium vapour lamps.Satam said the number of lights on the streets should increase. “Even if it’s LEDs, the number of lights needs to increase according to the illumination level survey. The BMC must conduct the survey immediately and increase the number of lights. More than the colour, it is important to have brighter and safer streets. Dark streets are leading to crime and safety issues, especially of women. This situation must change. We will continue our fight for brighter streets,” Satam said.Following Jadhav's complaint, the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) wrote to Kunte last week, recommending that white LED lights on Marine Drive be replaced with ones with a tint, similar to the previous sodium vapour lamps. Fadnavis, however, refrained from discussing the Marine Drive lighting controversy.Congress legislator Aslam Shaikh hit out at Fadnavis for forcing the LED policy on the BMC. “The pilot project of LEDs at Marine Drive was done without the consent of the BMC. This is unfair since the local corporators were kept in the dark," Shaikh said.