Noida dumps hi-tech surveillance project in favour of smart traffic management system

The Noida authority has now decided to dump the project altogether in favour of the intelligent traffic management system, which it claims is good enough for policing and maintaining law and order.

The hi-tech integrated security surveillance system (iS3), that was supposed to streamline policing in Noida, has failed to meet its deadline of April 2016.

The authority had conceived the project in 2012 with an aim to address deteriorating law and order in Noida. (HT File Photo)

The Noida authority has now decided to dump the project altogether in favour of the intelligent traffic management system (ITMS), which it claims is good enough for policing and maintaining law and order.

The Noida authority on Thursday said it has decided not to execute iS3 because traffic police’s intelligent traffic management system, meant to streamline traffic, will also help in maintaining law and order in Noida.

“The authority has dumped the Rs 114 crore iS3 project as the UP government has asked the traffic police to streamline policing and traffic issues using ITMS. We were supposed to start iS3 by April-end. But now the traffic police will work on it,” said Salil Yadav, project engineer, Noida authority, who was assigned the project.

Using close circuit television cameras (CCTVs), the authority had planned to put 106 sensitive points and 21 border areas under real-time surveillance under the iS3.

The authority had conceived the project in 2012 with an aim to address deteriorating law and order in this industrial city. It had planned to bring 203 sqkm under real-time surveillance.

“When the authority conceived the project in 2012, the traffic police was not doing any project of a similar nature. But, on May 3, UP chief secretary directed 12 cities, including Noida, to streamline policing and traffic. Therefore, we dumped our project,” another Noida authority official said.

According to the iS3 plan, each camera was supposed to have a month-long backup and all cameras were to be linked and managed by a control room to be set up in Sector 94.

All MNCs, BPOs, IT firms and government offices would have benefited from the system as they were to be brought under surveillance.

Noida traffic police, however, is yet to make a project proposal of ITMS and send it to the UP government for approval.

“We have conducted a survey of intersections and other important locations in Noida. We will soon prepare an ITMS project proposal and send it for necessary approval. We could not send it until now as some traffic intersections were witnessing Metro construction,” said Prabal Pratap Singh, superintendent of police (SP) (traffic).