CM Fadnavis launches first phase of Mumbai CCTV surveillance project with 1381

South Mumbai will have 1,000 cameras watching over it following the inauguration of the phase-I of the pan-Mumbai CCTV camera surveillance network on Monday.

The city has been divided into multiple zones wherein around 1381 CCTV cameras will be set up in the south zone (comprising areas in and around South Mumbai) in the first phase covering around 434 locations. He also emphasized that the objective of the government is to ensure integration of policing with latest technologies.

“After Pune and Mumbai, we are also working on this for other cities of Maharashtra”. Media reports said that the Maharashtra government is likely to wrap up the second phase of the project by 2016 and high-definition (HD) cameras are being used for the project which will be capable of capturing every minute detail. “But if the city is not safe, it can not be smart”.

Fadnavis said challenges regarding security measures are enormous and it is impossible to tackle them only with manpower.

Larsen and Toubro is the lead partner for Mumbai CCTV Surveillance Project and the company has deployed Next-Generation Video Surveillance and Situation Management Center (SMC) capabilities to help create a safe and more secure environment for Mumbai.

In Nashik, the digital surveillance would be upgraded from the system implemented for the recent Kumbh Mela, while steps have been intiatied to have a similar CCTV network in Nagpur.

The chief minister said that face detection, number plate identification and data analysis system facilities would be available after the entire project is completed. “But I am happy that after I took over, we were able to take some decisions to ensure that the CCTV network sees the light of the day”, he said.

The cameras installed in the first phase will be operational from this week.