The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has put on hold its plan to install CCTV cameras in civic schools as it was unable to execute another bigger project in the past five years. The decision of installing CCTV cameras in the civic schools was taken in 2019 and a budget of ₹4.75Cr was also allocated for the same.
A senior officer from the NMMC electrical department said, “In 2016, the civic body decided to install a total of 1,450 high-tech CCTV cameras across Navi Mumbai with a budget of ₹154Cr. We also roped in IIT, Bombay, and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute for helping us at the planning stage. Five years on, we are still stuck in the tendering process.
The bidders, who have shown interest, are presenting plans involving higher expenditures. Since this project has not seen any progress, the civic body has decided to put the project of installing CCTV cameras in civic schools on hold for now. Sources from the education department said that NMMC runs a total of 70 schools, of which 53 are primary and 17 are secondary schools.
The CCTV cameras in the school premises were a topic of discussion in the satellite city in 2018 after a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted inside her school premises in Vashi. The girl said that an unidentified person took her to a toilet by covering her mouth with a handkerchief and then assaulted her inside it. The police could not arrest anyone in that case.
Vilashini Patil, a 41-year-old parent from Seawoods, said, “CCTV cameras have become essential for the safety of the kids inside the school premises. Almost all private schools in the city have installed such cameras and that has given their parents a sense of relief. NMMC should also install such cameras on the school premises soon.”
