New Delhi: A six-member committee, constituted earlier this month by lieutenant-governor (L-G) Anil Baijal, is likely to regulate the installation of CCTV cameras in private and government buildings in the national capital. The committee, headed by Delhi principal secretary (Home) Manoj Parida, is currently in the process of preparing the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the installation and monitoring of CCTV cameras across the city.
Mr Parida is likely to convene a second meeting of the panel next week. The first meeting was held, ignoring the Delhi government’s objection, on May 11. The AAP dispensation has termed the committee as “illegal and unconstitutional.”
A senior government official said the committee was also working on modalities for the installation of CCTV cameras in private buildings to ensure that the privacy of none of the individuals is “disturbed.”
“The committee is seeking suggestions from experts and all stakeholders to prepare a common framework for installation and monitoring of CCTV cameras in the city. In other countries, there is common SOP for CCTV cameras. The government will ensure that the privacy of none of the individuals is disturbed due to CCTV cameras installed in private and government buildings,” he said.
According to the order setting terms and reference of the committee, the use of surveillance camera system should not be permitted to become a “tool to violate” the privacy of individuals, which is considered to be a fundamental right. The panel is likely to submit its report to the L-G on June 8.
Recently, Delhi PWD minister Satyendar Jain had expressed concern about the possible framework for private buildings to install CCTV cameras. It came at a time when the AAP dispensation is planning to install around 1.46 lakh CCTV cameras in about 1,000 schools.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Cabinet colleagues, and the AAP MLAs also sat on a dharna near the L-G’s office, requesting him not to stall the government’s ambitious CCTV project at the “behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party” through the committee.
