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Gurugram: Three metro stations to get facial recognition cameras
In a bid to improve surveillance systems, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will install facial recognition cameras at three Metro stations in the city, said officials on Monday
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In a bid to improve surveillance systems, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will install facial recognition cameras at three Metro stations in the city, said officials on Monday.
The officials said that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has given permission for installing facial recognition cameras at Sikanderpur and MG Road Metro stations, and talks are underway to receive permission for installing cameras at Huda City Centre station.
“By February end, we will install facial recognition cameras at Sikanderpur Metro Station and MG Road Metro station with all permissions in place. Eight such cameras will be installed at these two metro stations. At Huda City Centre station, initially two cameras will be installed and we will increase the numbers later on. With both facial recognition cameras and other CCTV cameras in the city, crime and traffic surveillance will improve further,” said a senior official from the smart city division of GMDA.
The development comes after chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar conducted a surprise inspection at the offices of GMDA and Municipal Corporation of Gurugram on Saturday night. Khattar conducted a detailed enquiry into the operation of the CCTV cameras across the city, the functioning of which is monitored by the integrated command and control centre (ICCC).
During his interaction with senior GMDA officials, the chief minister had directed that facial recognition system should be started for keeping a watch on suspicious persons. Khattar said such a system has already been made functional in Karnal, which is also his hometown. He also suggested that operations of the city bus service be monitored from the control centre.
The GMDA officials said that they will be conducting a meeting with the IT and police departments to discuss how the project can be taken up.
Gurugram at present has ten facial recognition cameras installed at two locations -- Sheetla Mata Mandir and Gurugram bus stand. The officials said that the authority has planned to install a total 50 facial recognition cameras across the city, though no timeline has been fixed as locations are being identified.
Sudhir Rajpal, chief executive officer of GMDA, said, “We are working with the departments concerned to find out if any special software is required for better surveillance, and how the tracking from ICCC can be improved. The chief minister has asked to ensure that there is 24-hour surveillance and traffic fines are issued for night movement too, along with monitoring sanitation vehicles of the city.”
The smart city team takes data of criminals from the police department for the monitoring process. The officials had recently said that if 60-70% facial features match, an alarm rings at the ICCC and a team is sent to the spot to identify the person.
The facial recognition technology uses facial features to match with existing information on databases to identify a particular person. But, due to various reasons like lack of proper lighting and angle of the image, there are chances of false recognition also in these systems, the officials said.
