Mumbai to get 6,000 CCTV cameras by 2016

Mumbai, Feb 7 (IANS) The long-pending proposal for electronic surveillance in Mumbai finally got underway Saturday with the Maharashtra government signing an agreement to install 6,000 CCTV cameras by September 2016, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here.

The project, estimated to cost Rs.949 crore, will be executed by infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) across the city and suburbs, he said on the occasion of the completion of 100 days of the BJP-Shiv Sena government.

"The CCTVs network would ensure safer city of the citizens and help Mumbai Police maintain law and order and augment traffic management. It will also help detect crime and effectively tackle criminal activities," Fadnavis told mediapersons here.

The plan was first announced by the erstwhile Congress-NCP government soon after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, but was stalled as four tenders floated for the project failed to elicit a response.

The project shall be implemented in three phases with south Mumbai expected to be under CCTV cover by November, followed by the second phase covering north and east Mumbai by April 2016.

In the third phase, central and western Mumbai will be covered by September 2016, ensuring a holistic and integrated video surveillance system to enhance safety and security, he said.

The city's long coastline would also get 20 thermal cameras to keep watch on movements in the Arabian Sea - the route taken by the Pakistani terrorists to sneak into Mumbai and launch the Nov 26, 2008 terror attack.

The CCTV network shall be monitored by two command centres at the police commissioner's office and in Kalina in the suburbs, while traffic police headquarters will get a centre for traffic management.

The system will enable viewing of feeds at all local police stations, offices of additional police commissioners and deputy police commissioners, besides state-of-the-art applications to manage and store the videos.