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Mumbai to get 2,500 more CCTV cameras by July
By the end of July this year, the city is set to get a network of 7,246 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, boosting its surveillance network.
By the end of July this year, the city is set to get a network of 7,246 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, boosting its surveillance network.
Currently, the city has 4,746 cameras fixed on 2,293 poles at 1,512 locations. The network has been set up by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at a cost of ₹980 crore. As part of the second phase of the project, Mumbai is set to get 5,625 cameras at 2,100 new locations, of which 2,500 will be installed in July. The state home department recently directed L&T to complete the second phase in five months. The installation of the remaining cameras is expected to be completed by early next year. On completion of both the legs, the city will have a strong network of 10,000 CCTV cameras.
“The addition of the cameras covering the newly identified locations will cost the state government ₹323 crore. Of the additional budget required, ₹100 crore is being shared by the central government under the Nirbhaya fund meant for safety of women. The earlier infrastructure will be utilised for the new cameras, so the installation will not take much time,” said a senior home department official on condition of anonymity.
In a recent meeting, the high-power committee headed by additional chief secretary Sanjay Kumar had directed the contractor to complete the installation of all 5,625 new cameras by July.
“The agreement says the L&T has to complete the installation in one year after it has got 50% of the permissions for trenching, digging and other works from the municipal corporation and other government bodies. But the 50% mark is yet to be achieved making it difficult to complete the entire installation before the monsoon,” he said.
The state government has also decided to integrate the network with the cameras installed by malls, hospitals, starred hotels and other establishments. The Mumbai police commissionerate has been directed to take a review of the potential integration of the cameras with command and control rooms of the Mumbai police. “The cameras that cover the open areas outside hotels and malls will be integrated with the police network. This would help us get more feed from private cameras covering public places. This is being done as part of the collaborative monitoring clause in our contract with the contractor implementing the network,” another home department officer explained.
The government also plans to direct the municipal corporations in big cities to make required changes to the building proposal norms to make installation of CCTV mandatory.
