One-third of the CCTV cameras in India’s capital aren’t functional, according to the city’s police

• The Delhi Police has informed the High Court that out of the 4,388 CCTV cameras installed in the city, 1,457 aren’t even functioning, as per a report in the Indian Express.
  
• When contesting for Delhi’s state elections in 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party proposed the installation of CCTV cameras across the city to ensure the safety of women.
  
• In August, the state government finally got a greenlight for the project, which involves the installation of 140,000 CCTV cameras all over New Delhi.
  

India’s capital city, New Delhi, routinely tops nationwide measurements when it comes to crime. And it’s not hard to see why. The police forces are known to be notoriously understaffed as well as strapped for funds.

The resource crunch also extends to the state of surveillance in the city. As per a report in the Indian Express, the Delhi Police has informed the High Court that out of the 4,388 CCTV cameras installed across the city, 1,457 aren’t even functioning. The data came in response to a public interest litigation filed by the victim of a speeding accident in June.

When contesting for Delhi’s state elections in 2015, a major proposal from the Aam Aadmi Party, which eventually won the election, was the installation of CCTV cameras in “vulnerable” areas across the city to ensure the safety of women.

The state government finally got a greenlight for the project two months ago. The Public Works Department approved a ₹5.7 billion budget for the programme, which involves the installation of 140,000 CCTV cameras across the city - with 2,000 in every constituency. The scheme is expected to commence before the end of the year.

While the move is bound to open a Pandora’s box of privacy and data security issues, it is an important step towards making the city a safer place. In fact, the data security issue was major point of contention between the AAP-government and a committee appointed by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor to assess the project.

The panel recommended that the Delhi Police oversee and coordinate the project, while the AAP suggested that trader associations and resident welfare associations be the custodians of the data collected. Now, as per the Delhi government’s operating procedures for the CCTV project, all parties will jointly oversee the project. Market and resident welfare associations will decide where the CCTVs should be located while the police and government officials will monitor the footage collected.