Hyderabad to get 8,000 CCTV cameras

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is preparing to play a crucial role in enhancing safety and security in the city by augmenting the CCTV camera network in its jurisdiction. As part of the exercise, the corporation is proposing to install 8,000 CCTV cameras in different parts of the city at a cost of Rs 19.18 crore.

The locations where these cameras will be installed were decided by officials of the Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department and the Police. “The proposal to install the cameras will be placed before the GHMC Standing Committee meeting this week,” said a GHMC official.

The cameras will be installed at strategic locations in slums and parks in Phase-I, for which the contract has been awarded to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) for installation, testing and commissioning of CCTVs along with Operation & Maintenance (O&M) for a period of two years.

The EESL on a pilot basis installed 11 CCTV cameras in slums in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills following which the contract to install new cameras was awarded to it. “The approximate price of each camera is Rs 23,981 excluding GST and the model being installed is 4G-Bullet camera. The cameras have an inbuilt storage system of a minimum 128 GB with data downloading option,” a GHMC official said, adding that the data would be in the control of GHMC and not ESSL.

A feasibility study was also proposed for the connectivity of the 11 cameras installed on a pilot basis to the Police Command and Control Centre. The police suggested that the cameras should be proposed with the provision of downloading the data recorded and that connectivity to the Command Control Room was not mandatory. A GHMC official said a meeting convened by the GHMC Commissioner and Electricity wing of the corporation had proposed 10,000 cameras, out of which installation of 8,000 cameras was proposed under phase- I this week.