A bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav noted that while the installation of CCTV cameras was to be completed within 22 weeks from the date of their contract finalised in August last year, the two contractors had completed installation of only half of the targeted number of cameras
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The Bombay High Court on Monday directed two private contractors, selected by the Maharashtra government to install CCTV cameras in police stations across the state, to appear before the HC on Friday to explain the delay in the installation work.
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The HC said the two contractors, based in Pune and Bengaluru, had received Rs 23 crore out of the total Rs 60 crore allocated for the installation of the CCTVs, hence "they can afford" to come to Mumbai.
A bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav noted that while the installation of CCTV cameras was to be completed within 22 weeks from the date of their contract finalised in August last year, the two contractors had completed installation of only half of the targeted number of cameras, and sought an additional 16 weeks to complete the work.
On February 16 this year, the Maharashtra government had informed the HC that the two contractors, Sujata Computers Pvt Ltd, Pune and Javi Systems India Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, were selected to implement the installation project, which included maintenance of all the CCTVs and instruments for five years with effect from August 6, 2021.
There are 1,089 police stations in the state and so far, 6,092 cameras have been installed in 547 police stations, the government said.
Of these, 5,639 cameras were functional and 453 were non-functional, the affidavit said, adding that the contractors have been directed to rectify the issue within a month.
The wiring and cabling work in the remaining 542 police stations was completed, the affidavit said.
The state had also told the court that it had allocated Rs 60 crore to install CCTV cameras in police stations across the state and out of this amount, the two contractors had already received Rs 23 crore.
On Monday, Rohan Cama, the amicus curaie appointed by the court to assist it in the matter, informed the bench that since February 16, more CCTVs had stopped functioning and the total number of non-functional cameras now stands at 711.
While the state's counsel, Shruti Vyas, told the HC that authorities had issued orders for repair of such cameras, the court asked, "Then why haven't the repairs been carried out?"
"The contractors are from Pune and Bengaluru. Let them come to court on the next date. Ask both of them to come. Let us interact with them directly," the HC said.
"They can afford to come to Bombay. They have received Rs 23 crore out of the total Rs 60 crore. One trip to Bombay is not difficult for them," the court said.
The state government also informed the HC on Monday that one of the reasons for the delay was that the contractors were "importing high-quality cameras".
To this, the HC asked, "Imported? What are they...Chinese? India doesn't have high-quality CCTV cameras?"
"The whole idea (of the court's intervention in the matter) is to implement the SC order on the issue in its entirety," the HC said.
The court will hear the matter further on Friday
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