All CCTV cameras under Cyberabad traffic police non-functional
15 May, 2013An application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get information about the status of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras mounted by traffic police department of Hyderabad.
The reply to the application states that 370 CCTV cameras were installed by the city traffic department out of which 34 are not working. The cameras were purchased for Rs. 11.53 crores and Rs. 4.5 crores have been spent on their maintenance. In comparison, Cyberabad’s performance is extremely poor. All the 51 CCTV cameras installed under the Cyberabad traffic police department are defunct. Out of these 51 cameras, 19 were installed in 2007 and 32 in 2010.
However, Cyberabad traffic police stated that ‘nil’ money was spent on the maintenance of the cameras though the actual amount needed for their maintenance was mentioned as Rs. 51 lakhs. The reply cited power problems and paucity of funds as major reasons behind the non-functional cameras. However, the Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad denied the facts mentioned in the reply and held that 47 cameras were working properly.
Unplanned installation of equipment and their poor upkeep is a menace in the government which is a cause of public money going down the drain.