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Delhi LG reviews Safe City project, calls for its implementation by August
The project, funded by Centre, will ensure technology-enabled enhanced policing and better security, especially for women, and will cost around ₹798 crore
Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Monday reviewed the status and progress of the Safe City Project being implemented by the Delhi Police, and issued instructions for the enterprise to be made fully functional and operational by August — before the G20 Summit meeting scheduled for the first week of September.
The project, funded by Centre, will ensure technology-enabled enhanced policing and better security, especially for women, and will cost around ₹798 crore, officials associated with the programme said. This involves the setting up of command and control centres, with facilities for video analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and a facial recognition system, they said.
Addressing a review meeting at the LG secretariat, Saxena issued instructions to incorporate AI-based applications into the project. “We have to ensure real-time crowd assessment, picking up behavioural traits and discrepancies, and immediately notify the command and control centres at the police headquarters, the offices of the deputy commissioners of police and police stations for immediate response in case of any deviations that point out towards impending crime. It is expected that police personnel reach women in distress on time, through use of technology and prompt availability of professionally equipped police and the police must have a quick and effective response system,” he said.
A Delhi Police spokesperson said, “The pilot and first phases of the Safe City project – which are for six districts – will be completed by May 31. Since this year is very important from the viewpoint of the forthcoming G20 Summit, we will complete the second phase of the Safe City Project in four districts by July 1 and the third and final phase in four districts by July 15.”
Outlining the components of the project, Saxena said that 10,582 CCTV cameras will be installed in the jurisdiction of Delhi. “Various data sets and CCTV projects under other schemes of Delhi Police will also be integrated with the Safe City Project platform. The police will also be equipped with two mobile command and control vehicles, besides 88 Prakhar vans equipped with mobile data terminal (MDT), communication devices, body-worn cameras and vehicle-mounted cameras. To avoid any duplication, GIS mapping of all CCTV cameras will also be done under this project,” he said.
The LG added, “Survey of field locations identified for installation of field devices, that is, CCTV cameras, poles, junction boxes and gunshot detection has been completed, and works have started on the installation of field devices, that is, poles and laying of cables. Civil work for the preparation of command and control centres is also under progress, while civil work for three terminals has been completed. Strengthening of a data centre floor is in progress, while the preparation of data centre and C4i (command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence) at the police headquarters is in progress.”
To be sure, the Delhi government has installed more than 275,000 cameras across the city, and plans to add at least 100,000 more. Besides, there are at least 10,000 police cameras which have been installed in the city.
The number of traffic cameras and those installed by RWAs was not immediately available.
Officials associated with the project said the cameras to be installed under Safe City will be better than the ones already in place in the city. “Compared to the existing CCTV cameras, the ones to be installed under the Safe City project will be more advanced and provide better and accurate footage,” a Delhi Police officer said, asking not to be named.
