Baijal, Kejriwal in letter war over CCTV project
NEWDELHI: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Sunday said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was “misleading” the people “repeatedly and deliberately” on the issue of installation of CCTV cameras in the Capital. In a letter to Kejriwal, the L-G said this was being done to “sidetrack” the core issue of women’s safety and the “lackadaisical approach” of the Delhi government.
The CCTV camera project has led to a fresh round of face-off between the L-G and the Delhi government after Baijal formed a committee headed by principal secretary (home) to draft a standard operating procedure of installing, operating and maintaining such cameras in the Capital. The controversy deepened when Delhi Congress chief alleged that the government went ahead with tenders without taking a cabinet nod, and also that it roped in a Chinese company, a charge denied by the government.
Within hours, Kejriwal shot back a reply to the L-G, accusing Baijal of trying to politicise an issue as important as women safety. The Chief Minister said he, along with all AAP legislators, will visit Baijal on Monday.
Baijal said while the government has been talking about installation of CCTVS for the last three years without much progress, more than two lakh cameras have already been installed in the city by Delhi Police, DMRC, DDA, local bodies, market associations, RWAS among other agencies.
Kejriwal questioned the L-G, “Why didn’t you set up any committee then? The NDMC is the most high security area of Delhi and they have installed several thousand cameras in the last two years. Why did you not set up a committee then? Now, when the Delhi government wants to install CCTV cameras, you have set up this committee arbitrarily, bypassing the elected government.”
The L-G rejected the charge made by the AAP government that he was delaying the project. Baijal asserted that no proposal relating to award of the work for installation of 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras has been received by his office.
“It is learnt that a Cabinet Note on the issue of award of work for installation of CCTV cameras by PWD is yet to be circulated, so the matter is pending with the elected government only. No directions have been issued by this office to stall or stop the award of work for CCTV tender,” the L-G said.
A statement from the L-G office said, “The order setting up the Committee nowhere directs that the work of award of CCTV cameras by elected government be stalled,” the statement read.
However, Kejriwal rejected the idea of setting up the committee. “If the committees will make laws, rules, policies and framework, then what will Cabinets, Parliaments and Assemblies do?” he asked in his letter.
“Which law gives powers to L-G to set up such a committee to frame regulatory framework and make laws and rules for installing CCTV cameras?....why are you violating the Constitution?” the Chief Minister wrote.