Journalism of Courage
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday told Pune Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak and Police Commissioner Gulabrao Pol that there would be “dire consequences of any delay in CCTV installation project in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and citizens will never forgive them if something untoward happened.”
After the JM Road blasts we had finalised a plan to install about 1,000 CCTV cameras for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad at a cost of Rs 30 crore. As per the plan,out of the Rs 30 crore expenditure,Rs 10 crore would be borne by the state government,Rs 10 crore will be from the MLA and MP development fund,Rs 7.5 crore from the PMC and Rs 2.5 crore from PCMC. However,during the three months I was away,when I had to resign,the plan was cancelled after the Chief Secretary said that the state government will bear the entire cost of the project. However,there seems to be no progress in the project, he said.
Pathak and Pol should visit Mumbai and see the new CCTV project I inaugurated recently. We should not leave the issue to the Chief Secretary and should take a final decision quickly. Because this delay can have serious implications on the city’s security. We can’t allow something untoward to happen. We cant allow innocent people to pay a huge price for this delay. If such a thing happens then the Punites will not forgive the Municipal Commissioner and the Police Chief,” he said.
Meanwhile,in reply to a query by Congress MLC Mohan Joshi in the state legislative council,Home Minister R R Patil reportedly said on Friday that a plan for Rs 338 crore has been proposed for purchase,installation,monitoring,maintainance of CCTV cameras,which will be approved soon.
