SDMC to install CCTV cameras to count number of commercial vehicles entering Delhi

The study has been organised on the direction of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Committee. The video-based analysis of CCTV cameras to count the vehicles would be conducted for 15 days.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has proposed a traffic study by installing CCTV cameras from June 15 to collect the latest data on the number of commercial vehicles entering the city from various municipal toll points.

Centre maintains that diesel vehicles contribute little to the pollution in Delhi. The Delhi government in a report submitted to the NGT claims that only 41 of the 759 trucks entering Delhi violate norms. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

The video-based analysis of CCTV cameras to count the vehicles would be conducted for 15 days during which the cameras would be installed at the 20 major toll points, which get 80-90% of traffic.

According to an SDMC official, the study has been organised on the direction of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Committee.

The 20 entry points include Kondli, Rajokri, Tikri, Dhansa Border, Jharoda, Aya Nagar, Mohan Nagar, Gazipur and Shahdara Flyover. On Friday, the agency invited the bids from private contractors to carry the 15-day study, said Puneet Goel, commissioner of SDMC.

“As of now, we don’t have the latest figures of vehicles entering the city from municipal corporation tolls and rely on the concessionaire who pays Rs 12.20 crore every week as toll tax collected from 124 entry points to the city,” said a senior SDMC official.

According to him, the survey would not just help in getting exact data but also facilitate in assessing the amount collected through tax. “There can be chances that the amount paid by the concessionaire would be less then what we are receiving right now,” said the official.

“Also, there are different amounts charged from different categories of vehicles (such as tractor, trolley, truck, tempo etc.) at toll plazas. We want their individual numbers which can be possible with the help of video-based devices only,” he said.

In July 2016, on the direction of Supreme Court the SDMC announced it will install an electronic toll system for automatically collecting tax (including Environment Compensation Charges). It aimed to decongest the toll plazas and the equipment decided to be installed at 13 locations, on a pilot basis.