Delhi Police will now monitor all CCTVs installed in Capital

The Delhi Police will now be able to monitor footage from all CCTVs installed in Capital's public spaces after the Public Works Department (PWD), which so far controlled the majority of such cameras in the capital, gave it full access.

- Jignasa Sinha

Under this project, which is in the process of being implemented, Delhi Police will be able to access the footage from cameras the PWD has already installed without needing permission and, moving forward, it will decide the locations for new cameras. The installations and repairs for all the cameras will still be carried out by the government agency.

Confirming the development, a Delhi Police spokesperson, said, “We are part of the surveillance under the ‘Safe City’ project. This is an extension of that. The CCTVs will be beneficial as police and PWD can access them in time.”

Delhi Police, under the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), is in-charge of law and order and internal security of the city and has installed 19,431 CCTVs since 2018-19. A senior police officer told HT these cameras installed under MHA's ‘Safe City’ were too few in number.

Since 2018, under a project launched by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government, PWD has installed over 280,000 CCTV cameras in the city in two phases.

To be sure, most CCTVs installed by PWD are on roads, in government buildings and establishments, as well as at underpasses, while Delhi Police cameras are on main roads, at metro and railway stations and the airport, as well as in markets.