Home Ministry hires private co to determine number of CCTV cameras required to cover sensitive locations

Unhappy with data collected by the Mumbai police, the State Home Ministry hired a private company recently to conduct research to find how many CCTV cameras are required in the city.

Following the attacks, all police stations were asked to identify vital spots that should be covered by CCTV cameras. The ministry also formed a committee to monitor surveillance inputs from the CCTV cameras.
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Ten months later, the police have managed to pass very little information to the Home Ministry.

Smile: A CCTV camera installed on a pole on a bridge in Parel.

Order for 5,000

"The Home Ministry had earlier decided to order 5,000 cameras without conducting research.

Then the police were asked to study the ground reality and arrive at the required number. Now, they have hired a private company for research.

I hope things move fast because a year has passed, and very little has been done so far to bolster city security," revealed Pramoud Rao, managing director of Zicom Pvt Ltd, who is a member of the committee formed by the Home Ministry.

A spokesperson from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the company undertaking the research, confirmed they are collecting data on CCTV cameras for the Home Ministry. "We don't want to comment," said the spokesperson.

100
Number of CCTVs installed in public places in Mumbai

5,000
The number of cameras that the Home Ministry had wanted to install

Rs 800 Cr
The projected cost of buying and installing 5,000 CCTV cameras

1,000
The number of cameras that are to be installed in public spaces in Bengaluru

10,000
Number of cameras to be installed in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games
Number of cameras to be installed in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games

Smile: A CCTV camera installed on a pole on a bridge in Parel.