Bihar police ink deal with TCS for digital crime and criminal tracking project

The project will cover 1,326 locations which will be equipped with IT hardware, viz, desktops, printers, digital camera, digital pen, networking equipment, etc., which would be connected to the state data centre.

More than eight years after approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the ambitious Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project—an attempt to digitize and streamline the entire policing process in the country—is far from completion in Bihar.

The project, signed between Bihar Police and TCS, will cover 1,326 locations, including 894 police stations and 380 higher offices in the state. (HT File Photo)

On Thursday, the Bihar police signed a contract with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for implementation of the project through a detailed and transparent tendering process.

The contract, involving a sum of ₹223 crore, was signed between Bihar police and the TCS authorities. Bihar government will bear the major share of project funding amounting to ₹206 crore.

The project will cover 1,326 locations, including 894 police stations and 380 higher offices. These locations will be equipped with IT hardware, viz, desktops, printers, digital camera, digital pen, networking equipment, etc., which would be connected to the state data centre.

Network connectivity will be provided by the BSNL and the BSWAN for all locations while the Deloitte firm will provide consultancy services and monitor progress of the project as the state project management unit (SPMU).

The project will commence with the pilot phase that covers police offices in Patna and Nalanda districts, within 32 weeks. The statewide roll out of the scheme across all police offices will be completed in another 23 weeks.

With the fresh pact, things are likely to expedite for implementation of the project in one year as well as operation and maintenance support for the next five years. At a later stage, CCTNS project will be integrated with interoperable criminal justice system, comprising e-prosecution, e-court, e-prison and e-FSL.

Earlier on May 24, 2017, the Bihar government had assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi it would expedite the implementation of CCTNS. The assurance came at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in which he interacted with chief secretaries, director-generals of police and other senior officials of states through information and communication technology-based platform for Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI).

Bihar is running way behind schedule in the implementation of CCTNS project as compared to other states, leading to cost overrun of nearly ₹102 crore, which the state will now have to spend from its own kitty. The initial estimated cost for implementation of the project was ₹64 crore.

“The delay was caused due to hiring of inefficient contractors initially. Their contracts were cancelled at a later stage. However, all efforts are being made to expedite CCTNS implementation,” a police official said.

The CCTNS is envisaged as a countrywide integrated database on crime incidents and criminals. It aims to connect all police stations across the country with all crime and criminal data, along with a central database for real time access to information.

The first phase of CCTNS is nearing completion, with 14,500 of 15,500 police stations across the country being connected. Only Bihar, for various administrative reasons, is lagging behind, with around 850 police stations yet to be linked to CCTNS.