Special provision for CCTV plan in budget

The state budget to be presented next month is expected to make a special provision for implementing the long-delayed CCTV project in Mumbai and also focus on completing police housing projects.

The Home Department is planning to set up a three-tier CCTV system in Mumbai. In the first phase,1,200 CCTVs will be set up and eventually upgraded to 5,000 to put the city under video surveillance. The plan to instal CCTV network was first floated after the 26/11 attacks and was revived after 13/7 triple bombings in July last year. A team led by Home Minister R R Patil and comprising senior Home Department officials and cops visited London in October to study the surveillance system there.

We are in the process of finalising the CCTV project and funds will be allocated in the planned budget, said Umeshchandra Sarangi,Additional Chief Secretary (Home). He said the work order has taken time as a technical committee was formed to decide the specifications for the bid document,which has run into four volumes. It is better to be late rather than have an erroneous job. The document we have now prepared can be used for reference by other states also, said Sarangi.

He said the focus would remain on completing housing and police infrastructure projects in the state. The department has been able to create 3,500 housing units in the state last year. There were 23 projects related to infrastructure of which most have been completed.

Moreover,in the last year,the state government has received 2,000 bulletproof jackets,AK-47s,MP5 as part of modernisation of the state police force. Reserve Force units in Kolhapur and Aurangabad have come up but the Marine Training Institute in Raigad hasnt started as the government is yet to get the land allotted.

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