Hyderabad: About 80 per cent of the CCTV cameras in the headquarters and zonal offices of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are dysfunctional. This has given officers scope to indulge in irregularities and destroy records.
CCTV footage was a key piece of evidence in the Khairatabad fire incident, where the audit section was allegedly set ablaze. The records of ongoing works were gutted in the fire. Preliminary inquiries indicated that there was no human movement in the area and that the fire was caused by a short circuit.
The corporation has installed 100 CCTV cameras across all of its offices — 26 in its head office, 31 in the North Zone office, 32 in the West Zone office, 2 in the South Zone office, 1 in the East Zone office and 8 in the Central Zone office.
According to highly-placed sources, 80 per cent of these cameras are worn out and dysfunctional.
Officials say that private agencies entrusted with the maintenance of CCTV cameras at the GHMC offices have stopped rendering their services due to the non-payment of bills.
In the absence of functional CCTV cameras, it is quite difficult to maintain transparency and accountability.
A senior GHMC official, on condition of anonymity, said that 467 new 4-Megapixel pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras would be procured at a cost of '26,000 each.
“CCTV cameras will be installed in every cabin of the GHMC’s zonal offices and headquarters to monitor officials and their availability in the office. This move will enhance accountability and transparency,” the official said.
CCTV cameras have been installed by the Sanitation Wing at transfer stations near Imliban and Tank Bund to curb irregularities. Three cameras have also been installed at parking yards in Kavadiguda, Khairatabad and Malakpet. They are intended to record the arrival and departure of vehicles carrying garbage, the quantity of garbage carried, and the drivers of the vehicles.
Sources in the GHMC said that the CCTV cameras in dumping yards and parking stations were being maintained by Interactive Data Systems Pvt Ltd. The agency quoted '3 lakh as its annual charges for the maintenance of the cameras, the payment of which has been delayed by the civic body.
