MUMBAI: Six months after Marine Drive lost its golden glow, the Bombay high court on Thursday weighed in on the issue and suggested bringing back sodium vapour lamps that throw a yellow light on the iconic stretch.

“The Queen’s necklace (as Marine Drive is often called) is the pride of Mumbai,” said Chief Justice Mohit Shah. “Why don’t you bring back the sodium vapour lamps?”

This January, the BMC had replaced the sodium vapour lamps with white LED lights as part of a Rs 250-crore plan to switch all street lighting in the city to the energy-efficient lamps. The corporation claimed it would save over Rs 80 crore in electricity bills.

The court’s observations were directed at additional municipal commissioner S V R Srinivas, who had just minutes ago given a presentation on the measures taken to ease traffic congestion in the city. The bench of the chief justice and Justice Anil Menon was hearing a public interest litigation on traffic indiscipline in Mumbai.

Pointing to Marine Drive’s heritage value, the bench said: “They (LED lamps) throw less light and is a problem for people who are walking on the Marine Drive. If your concern is to save money, you could instal LED lights in other parts of the city. Continue with the sodium vapour lamps on Marine Drive.”

Though the HC did not pass any orders, the chief justice’s observation assumes importance. Almost since the day the BMC changed the lights, there have been complaints ranging from poor illumination to lamentations that the iconic road hardly looked the same without the golden glow.

In fact, the issue turned into a full-blown battle between the partners in the government and the BMC with the Shiv Sena protesting the move and demanding the return of the yellow lights and the BJP, which is spearheading the changeover, standing its ground.

Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee chairman V Ranganathan, who inspected the area in February 2015, also wrote to the BMC, asking that the golden glow on the heritage stretch be retained irrespective of the kind of lights installed. “The illumination should be projected outwards as well so that the entire stretch is very well lit and there are no dark spots,” said Ranganathan.

Following the tussle, the Centre had furnished a survey done by an independent agency that claimed that 79% people who use the promenade and local residents were happy with the lighting levels.