PANEL TO MONITOR CCTV PROJECT
NEW DELHI: Lieutenantgovernor of Delhi Anil Baijal on Tuesday constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary (Home) to evolve a standard operating procedure or framework for installation, operation, monitoring of CCTVS and other related issues. "CCTV is an effective tool for law enforcement but privacy concerns also need to be addressed," observed the statement of the LG office.
The statement also noted that Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) should address the issues of uniformity in installation as well as issues of privacy, security, feed-sharing, integration and optimum utilization. "While finalizing its report, the committee shall mandatorily consult all major users – departments, agencies and local bodies concerned, for their inputs or suggestions," the statement noted.
Meanwhile, the AAP and the Delhi Pradesh Congress started a new word of war after Congress leader Ajay Maken alleged that the project was a scam. The AAP on Tuesday alleged a "conspiracy" was being hatched to stall its ambitious CCTV project, a day after Maken claimed that the project was marred by corruption.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai alleged that Maken was "working on the BJP agenda" and sought to know if the Congress chief was planning to join the saffron party. Rejecting Maken's charges that tenders were finalised without the approval of the competent authority, the AAP'S Delhi convener said the Delhi government had not relaxed rules to favour any agency. "When tenders were issued for the first time in November 2017, two companies had come forward. When tenders were floated again, the same companies -a private agency and a public sector undertaking -- showed interest. Where is a scam in it when there was no third company involved? The government chose the PSU which quoted a lesser rate to install CCTV cameras as compared to the private company," Rai said.
He said there were two types of tenders –Rate Contract Tender and Project Contract Tender. The government was installing CCTV cameras through the Rate Contract Tender, under which payment to the agency concerned is made based on the basis of rate-per-unit.
Rai alleged that Maken was trying to create roadblocks in the CCTV project like he did in the Mohalla Clinic project which was delayed by eight months. He also sought to know as to how many CCTV cameras were installed by the Sheila Dikshit government which was in power in Delhi for 15 years. "The Delhi government is installing CCTV cameras to ensure women safety, but if it is stalled, the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply to him (Maken)," he said.