BENGALURU: The Karnataka Cabinet on Tuesday approved a scheme aimed at enhancing women’s safety in Bengaluru. Under the ‘Surakshita Deepa’ initiative, about 7,500 cameras of various types including Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), Facial Recognition System (FRS) and fixed cameras will be installed across the city at a cost of Rs 667 crore.
“Cameras will be installed in all eight police division. Other measures include setting up of Boneh-Shaw-based crime mapping, identifying safe and unsafe zones, setting up of command centres and helplines,” said Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy.
Under the Surakshita Deepa scheme, the government plans to have panic/emergency buttons on streetlight or CCTV camera posts. “Women or children can press the button in emergency or crises which will immediately alert the command centre. Response teams will arrive immediately to help,” the minister said.
A Request For Proposal (RFP) has been sought under the Centre’s Nirbhaya funds.
Forty per cent of the funding for the scheme will be borne by the State Government and 60% by the Centre. The State has a deadline till the month-end to send the project details for clearance from the Centre.
Apart from the scheme for women’s safety, the cabinet also decided on a range of issues including approving a Rs 400 crore government guarantee for bank loan facilities to be availed by Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation under the agriculture department, and enhancing grants to D Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation Ltd from Rs 500 crore to Rs 550 crore.
Other decisions include procuring health kits which include soaps and detergent at a cost of Rs 18.62 crore from Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd to be distributed to Backward classes hostels, approval of new textile and garment policy, revised approval for constructing Police Bhavan at a cost of Rs 80 crore on land belonging to the KSRP and a new commissionerate building in Belagavi at a cost of Rs 17 crore.
The cabinet also approved Rs 110 crore for completion of pending works under PWD in Deodurga of Raichur district.
It has also agreed to provide a guarantee to borrow a staggering Rs 1,000 crore term loan under IEBR by Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd.