The Andhra Pradesh government is taking steps to make Amaravati the most energy-efficient city in the country, according to Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary (Energy).

He was addressing a two-day conference on energy efficiency, which concluded here on Friday. It was jointly organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and the AP State Energy Conservation Mission.

Focus on conservation Jain said the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and BEE had signed a pact to design and construct the buildings in Amaravati in such a way as to achieve maximum energy efficiency.

He narrated the steps taken by the State government in the past three years to achieve energy efficiency — the distribution of 2.16 crore LED bulbs across the State, installation of 6 lakh LED streetlights in all the municipalities, beginning with Visakhapatnam in 2014 after the Hudhud cyclone, and replacement of old, inefficient agricultural pumpsets with new efficient ones.

He said the State government had also taken up installation of 40 lakh LED streetlights in all the villages in the State in a phased manner, to be completed by March 2019. Further, in the first phase, one lakh agricultural pumpsets would be replaced and ultimately all the 15 lakhs in phases.

All the government departments, courts in the state and other agencies were focusing on energy efficiency, he said and added that more than 30-40 per cent energy can be saved by adopting these measures.

Mass movement Abhay Bhakre, Director-General of BEE, said a pan-India mass movement should be launched to promote the concept of energy efficiency in all fields and sectors. People’s involvement was the most crucial factor, and it would not be enough if the government alone participated in the programme.

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