CCTV camera installation work to see further delay?

Addressing his first ever press conference in the city as the new Guardian Minister of the district, Sachin Ahir yesterday told the mediapersons that installation of CCTVs will be part of a global tenders that will be floated for major cities in the state, including Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad. He said the state was thinking of inviting a global tender for the same.u00a0This announcement means that installation of CCTV cameras in the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad could get delayed further.u00a0

Thinking global: Guardian Minister Sachin Ahir addresses media in the city yesterday.u00a0Pic/Krunal Gosavi

Global is better
"The local-level proposal of installing CCTVs can be put on hold, as we are thinking of inviting global tenders. The centrally controlled installation will be more efficient than the local-level proposal of installing CCTVs," Ahir said.

During his visit to the city, Ahir met District Collector Vikas Deshmukh, Commissioner of Police Gulabrao Pol, Divisional Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh and heads of various governmental departments to discuss various ranging form environment to installation of CCTV cameras in the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

After the 26/11 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, the state set up a high-level committee to probe security loopholes headed by former chief secretary Ram Pradhan. The Pradhan committee recommended installation of CCTV cameras not only in Mumbai, but also in the city, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad as well. u00a0But the committee's recommendation was taken seriously only after the German Bakery blast, which occurred on February 13, 2010.u00a0

It was this September that Chief Secretary and the High Power Committee gave a green signal to police officials to install 1,000 CCTV cameras in the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Expertspeak
But it appears that Ahir's latest statement confused the security experts. Major General (Retd) Sudhir Jathar said the only advantage the state would get by floating a global tender is that the government would get CCTVs at a low price, as the cameras would be purchased in bulk from a single company.
"However, this global tendering process will take time and the installation process will be delayed," Jathar said. Air Marshal (Retd) Bhushan Gokhale said if the government is coming up with an innovative concept of installing CCTVs by floating the tender then it is welcomed, but any delay in tendering process is unacceptable.

Another meet
Ahir also took stock of traffic and environmental problems faced by the city. When asked what measures would the government be implementing to tackle water distribution issue once 28 villages near the city fall under the PMC's jurisdiction, Ahir said the state would have a separate meeting to discuss the issue. The state government recently permitted the inclusion of 28 villages within PMC's jurisdiction.u00a0