DTC awaits Nirbhaya fund for CCTV in buses

Amid a storm over an interview of a convict in the December 16, 2012 gang-rape, the Delhi Transport Corporation is hoping that the renewed focus on the incident would help hasten its bid to get over Rs 10 million for fitting CCTV cameras in all its 5,600 buses.

The public transporter has been waiting for over three months to hear from the central government whether it will get the money to fit three electronic eyes each in all its buses, including air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned.

“Currently, our 200 buses are equipped with CCTV cameras. We want to extend the facility to all our buses,” said DTC spokesperson R S Minhas.

Sources in the DTC said the proposal for additional funds for CCTV cameras in all buses was sent by officials to city’s transport commissioner for forwarding it to the Union Home Ministry.
“We have not got any response yet,” confirmed a top official.

The decision to have more CCTV camera-fitted buses also seems to be in line with the Arvind Kejriwal government’s commitment to enhance women’s security in buses.

“Hopefully, the new government will also push the matter with greater intensity,” said a DTC official.
The funding will depend on the Union Home Ministry’s nod on use of the Rs 1,000 crore fund created by former finance minister P Chidambaram in 2013.

The corporation had recently installed closed-circuit television cameras in 200 of its buses, as part of a pilot project to enhance security.

The footage of these cameras is recorded by the main server and preserved for over a month.
Helped solve crime

“The pilot project has proved to be beneficial as the footage of the CCTV helped solve a few cases of crime,” said Minhas.

The buses of Rajghat and Sarojini Nagar depots plying on routes linking railway stations to the airport and being used as school buses were identified for fitting the CCTV under the pilot project.
The video recording of all the three CCTV cameras remain safe in the bus for at least 15 days, a DTC official said.

After 15 days, a back-up is stored by the DTC authorities on bigger servers, he said.
At some stage, the Transport Department plans to extend the CCTV facility to the orange private cluster buses as well.

Currently, as many as 1,324 cluster buses are being operated by the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System.