Delhi Govt Plans Major Overhaul of CCTV System for Women’s Safety Current Affairs

Representational Image.

The project was launched by the previous government in 2020 with the aim of increasing the safety of residents

New Delhi: The Delhi government is preparing a major overhaul of the CCTV operating system, which is currently managed by the Public Works Department (PWD), as part of its efforts to strengthen women’s safety across the national capital, officials said on Friday. The project was launched by the previous government in 2020 with the aim of increasing the safety of residents. In two phases, almost 2.8 lakh CCTV cameras have been installed by the PWD, but the coverage in some of the constituencies is lower than the average.

“A proposal for extension of the current company, which is managing the CCTV cameras, has been sent to the government for consent, recently a review meeting was held by the PWD minister, where directions to finalise the revamp plan have been given,” a senior government official said.

The department has also been given directions by minister Parvesh Verma to complete the installation of the remaining 7,300 CCTV cameras and to overhaul the entire CCTV operating procedure currently managed by the PWD, officials added.

Currently the PWD maintains the CCTV feeds of these cameras, accessible only to authorised users. However, the plan is to transfer the entire control to the Delhi Police.

“A command-and-control centre of the project is also operated by the PWD and keeps a record of the live feed for a period of 30 days. Till date, more than 12,000 pieces of footage have been shared by the PWD with the police” the official said.

The department has handed over maintenance of the CCTV cameras to Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL), a public sector unit under the Ministry of Defence, and the plan is to extend the maintenance project for two more years to the same company, the official added.

Request for installation of CCTV cameras can be done by filling out a form on the PWD’s website. The form requires details, such as the name of the constituency, contact number, tentative number of houses covered, and tentative number of cameras required.

( Source : PTI )