Centre denied funds, will put CCTVs in buses with own money: CM Kejriwal

In a written response in the Lok Sabha, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani had on November 29 said that Delhi has been sanctioned Rs 390 crore under the Nirbhaya fund so far, out of which it has spent Rs 19 crore.

“We had approached the Centre for getting the project (CCTV/panic buttons) funded under the Nirbhaya corpus. But they have not released any fund for buses. We have not received Rs 390 crore. A few days ago, we got Rs 65 crore to set up one-stop centres for rape victims. We have inaugurated one centre, and are in the process of setting up such centres in every district,” the CM said.

He added that all 5,500 buses will be fitted with safety facilities in seven months. The new buses coming under the cluster scheme are already equipped with these features. Apart from CCTVs and panic buttons, the buses will also be covered by a GPS-based automatic vehicle location system. “This will enhance the safety of woman commuters and enable them to set up an app-based live bus info system,” he said.

The app will help commuters track the timings of buses. Over the last three years, the project remained grounded as three tenders in this regard failed.

Under the project, there will be 10 panic buttons in every bus. “We are planning to launch these facilities on 100 buses by the end of December. It will take six-seven months to complete the entire project. The app has been almost developed,” he added.