AAP government to hold public meeting over CCTVs

NEW DELHI: To put in motion its ambitious project of installing 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras across the city, AAP government will have an interaction with Delhiites next week. Sources in the government said that a public meeting is scheduled on July 29 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium for taking feedback from people.
Close to 50,000 people, including the representatives of residents’ welfare associations and market committees, are likely to attend the event.All ministers and prominent AAP MLAs will have a dialogue with them.
Interestingly, Delhi government’s home department through its principal secretary, who is also the chairman of the committee on CCTV formed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, has invited opinions from the general public on the rules and guidelines for installing, operating and monitoring cameras in public places.
The LG had set up the panel for standardising the process after Delhi government approved the installation of the CCTVs. The home department had recently drafted Rules for Regulation of CCTV Camera Systems in NCT of Delhi, 2018 under Delhi Police Act, 1978. Officials said this will be revised in tune with feedback from the public.
Sources said the AAP government may not accept the rules and regulations made under Delhi Police Act as the committee was formed without consulting it. “The elected government is not bound by the recommendations of the committee. It was aimed at delaying the project,” said the source.
However, an official said the feedback collected by the AAP government can be included in the draft rules and tweaked to make it acceptable to everyone. The last date of accepting objections and suggestions has also been extended to July 31 to accommodate the views of people who assemble at the stadium on July 29.
The procedure for formulating a regulatory framework has been in controversy with the LG entrusting the work to his committee and Kejriwal criticising Baijal for leaving such a crucial assignment to a panel that did not have a single representative of the elected government.