THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the Central Intrusion Monitoring System being implemented by the Kerala Police in association with Keltron and a private company came under the scanner of the audit watch dog, it was TNIE that first questioned the propriety of involving a private company in handling the security and data related to security in the state. A report titled ‘Pvt eye for citizens’ security raises eyebrows’ that appeared on November 3 had shed light on the chinks in the security system.
P T Thomas, MLA, who raised the issue in the assembly on Tuesday, questioned the police department’s decision of favouring a private firm for handling security-related matters. The chief minister replied on Wednesday that there was no corruption in the project. The police had not invested in the project, he said in the assembly.
The private firm, Galaxon International Pvt Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram, which won the bid for the project, is investing in the project as per ‘Build, Own, Operate and Transfer’ (BOOT) model under public-private partnership basis for 15 years and the entire apparatus will be handed over to the Kerala Police only at the end of the contract period. The security system was launched on January 20.
The private entity has considerable say in manning the control room set up at the police headquarters, although it says that ensuring technical competency and normal operation of the system is its main mandate. The private company has been allowed to collect money from subscribers of the project based on the size of the security apparatus one chooses and a certain percentage of the revenue will be shared with the police and Keltron.
When TNIE had earlier contacted former state police chief T P Senkumar, he had raised serious objection against entrusting security-related matters with a private company. He also said that the Kerala Police’s projects with Keltron have to be subjected to a detailed scrutiny.
The CAG audit report also found that the police department had violated the Stores Purchase Manual and CVC guidelines in the procurement of equipment for various projects, and Keltron was an implementing agency in many of these projects.
How CIMS works
The CIMS is an advanced technical interface software which allows the police to track information and monitor the relevant CCTV cameras installed in various commercial establishments and residences as part of the project and react to any type of event within minutes. A control room has been set up at the police headquarters to monitor the system round the clock with special hardware and network video management software to communicate with the intrusion alarm and CCTV systems installed on the premises.