With terror threats looming large over the national Capital, about 70 per cent of the 4,064 CCTV cameras installed by the Delhi Police are said to have become non-functional in the city. This startling facts were recently discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma.
During the meeting, the Special Commissioner (operations) said 50 per cent of the CCTV cameras were not working because of problems with the Electronics Corporation of India ltd, (ECIl) a Public Sector Undertaking of the Union Government, through which these cameras had been acquired, and 20 per cent others had become non-functional due to digging of roads.
It is learnt that the police chief directed his officers to sort out pending issues with the ECIl on a priority. It was also decided at the meeting that the good work done to install CCTV cameras with the help of the private people should be continued in right earnest. Verma directed the Joint Commissioner of the South West Region to hold a meeting with the Deputy Commissioners of Police on a regular basis for further progress in the matter.
The CCTV cameras had been installed by police to keep track on various activities in 56 market places, courts and check-posts. There are about 1.6 lakh more cameras which have been installed by private people in collaboration with police under a unique community policing initiative. Besides these, a Business Area Watch project is also in place where cameras have been installed in high value business locations like Chandni Chowk, Darba Kalaan as well as some markets of South Delhi in collaboration with the respective market associations. There are also about 50 monitoring stations and processes in place to enable multi use of CCTV cameras for e-challaning and e-patrolling.
A senior police officer said of the total cameras installed by police, 78 were in the Supreme Court, 35 in the Delhi High Court, 440 in five district courts, 42 in VP House, 35 in Raj Niwas and 21 in Union Home Minister’s residence. The CCTV cameras were installed in the city under a pilot project. As per the project details, 56 cameras at the cost of Rs6.56 crore were installed in Vasant Vihar and Ghazipur. Under Phase 1 of the project, 1,073 cameras were installed at the cost of Rs82.38 crore in 29 market places and border check-posts. While 1,959 cameras worth Rs167.76 crore were installed under Phase-2 (a) of the project in 28 market places and 10 check-posts, 1,380 other cameras were put up under Phase 2 (b) of the project worth Rs83.18 crore at six other locations. There are about 208 non-ECIl cameras installed at eight other sites.