Nearly 32,000 CCTVs not functional in Delhi: PWD
Almost 32,000 CCTV cameras across the Capital, or roughly 12% of the total, are not functional, the Public Works Department (PWD) informed the Delhi Legislative Assembly in response to a query posed on Wednesday.
Until February 28, PWD installed 264,613 cameras in two phases—against the 280,000 sanctioned by the former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government between August 2018 and September 2019—PWD deputy secretary MK Nikhil said in his reply.
The cameras that are lying defunct after being installed in the second phase are being worked upon, the department said.
The newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has decided to carry out a comprehensive audit of CCTV cameras installed by PWD during the previous regime. PWD minister Parvesh Verma recently said in the Delhi Assembly that a probe will also be conducted to ascertain why CCTV cameras were not installed in eight BJP constituencies when the AAP was in power.
According to an August 2021 Forbes India report, Delhi has the highest density of CCTV cameras across the world, with 1,826 cameras per square mile. It is followed by London (1,138 cameras per square mile), Chennai (609 cameras per square mile) and Shenzen (520 cameras per square mile). Mumbai has only 157 cameras per square mile.
The BJP govt has ordered an audit of the previous govt’s ambitious project to install 2.8 lakh CCTV cameras across the city.
Under the City Surveillance CCTV project, a network of high-resolution, night vision, full HD CCTV cameras with recording facilities have been installed in streets, public spaces, residential colonies and schools. “The system is decentralised and allows remote monitoring by police, PWD, RWAs and market associations through secure connections,” a PWD official said.
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