NEW DELHI: After three years of struggle and a long battle with the lieutenant-governor, the

government’s CCTV project has finally taken off, just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This was one of the important poll promises of AAP. Three hundred CCTV cameras have been installed in some select areas to check if the specifications and peformance match the requirements. The spots have been selected according to suggestions received from residents. It was in November last year that all departmental approvals were given for the Rs 571-crore project. The cameras are being installed according to the standard operating procedure worked out by the AAP government.

The areas where these cameras are on trial include B K Dutt Colony; P & T Colony on Atul Grove Road, near Mandi House;

Marg, Phase I; Old Gole Market; P & T Colony, Sarojini Nagar; Old Sarojini Nagar; and Rani Bagh Market besides others. The PWD will for some time review these cameras for their effectiveness and check their feed storage capacity, quality of feed, etc.

When implementation of the scheme is complete, 1.4 lakh cameras — 2000 in each of the 70 assembly constituencies — would have been installed. The recordings will be accessible to RWAs, police and government. Residents have reacted positively to the move. At P&T Colony on Atul Grove Road near Mandi House, 15 cameras have been installed for the benefit of 400 people living in about 125 houses. The residents said this move was awaited for long as the area was slowly becoming more and more vulnerable to criminal activities.

“In the last couple of months, three bikes have been stolen while some vehicles have been damaged as well. Apart from this, there are spots — including a shady park here — where boys consume liquor and create a ruckus. After the cameras were installed, there has not been a single such incident,” said Subhash Tomar, a resident. Another resident, Kishore, said they can cut down on the cost of hiring a security guard. The cameras have been installed at strategic points, most of which are vulnerable to crime, and the entry and exit points of the colonies. There are four set-top boxes installed in this area and each can work with four CCTV cameras.

The AAP government had given its in-principle approval in October 2015. The project had led to several flashpoints between the elected government and the LG over the proposed regulatory framework to guide their installation. The LG had in May formed a panel headed by the secretary, home, to develop the framework. This panel was accused by the chief minister,

, of being "specifically formed to stall the CCTV project."

The panel was in the line of fire of the government when it drafted the regulatory framework which advocated a mechanism of reporting to the police for their installation. Kejriwal claimed that LG’s panel had recommended procuring a “licence for installation of cameras” while the AAP government had consulted people and accordingly framed its SOP. Alleging that the LG and police were "opposed" to the project, Kejriwal had in July hit out at both during a large public meeting where he tore up the draft report of the LG’s panel.

At this public meeting did Kejriwal decide with the consent of the people that the locations for installation of the cameras will be decided at the general body meetings of RWAs and market associations in the presence of the police and the agency tasked to install them. The recordings would be given to RWAs, police and government.