NEW DELHI: More than 7,500 CCTV cameras across the capital were found to be offline by the Public Works Department (PWD) during its safety audit conducted last year. Launched in 2020, approximately 2.8 lakh cameras have been installed so far by the government, along with various resident welfare associations and market unions.
The latest report submitted by the government in response to a question in the Delhi Assembly stated that a total of 7,535 cameras were found to be offline. Power cuts, technical faults, theft or vandalism, and dismantling or relocation of cameras were mentioned as the reasons behind this.
According to a PWD official, “In the technical fault category, it is mostly the network-providing company that has issues, and there is no relay of the live feed at the Central Command Center (CCC). Then there is theft of parts and power cuts, which are external factors. We are trying to resolve all this in the future tender.”
The Delhi government plans to install 50,000 additional CCTV cameras across the city, while also prioritising the maintenance of these cameras. The surveillance cameras are mostly installed in public spaces like markets, roads, inside residential colonies, and business centres, and are connected to the CCC at the PWD headquarters. The department has handed over maintenance of the cameras to Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which is a public sector unit under the Ministry of Defence.
“In the future, for proper maintenance of CCTV cameras, we plan to issue a consolidated tender. Currently, we have a separate company in charge of maintenance work,” a senior PWD official said, while stating that the number of dysfunctional cameras is monitored in real-time and keeps changing.
While addressing the assembly session in February 2025, PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said that the government plans to increase CCTV coverage in the city.
Under the previous plan, 4,000 cameras were to be installed in every assembly constituency. However, it was alleged that constituencies represented by BJP MLAs received fewer cameras due to denial of approvals. The PWD has estimated a cost of `100 crore for installing new cameras, which is likely to include both installation and maintenance.
50,000 additional cameras to be installed
The government plans to install 50,000 additional CCTV cameras, while also prioritising the maintenance. The department has handed over the maintenance of cameras to Bharat Electronics Limited.