RAWALPINDI: The Punjab caretaker government has decided to install as many as 350 CCTV cameras in Rawalpindi for Rs10 billion from January next year to ensure effective surveillance in the garrison city.

The project will take one year to complete, according to officials.

They said the cameras would be connected to a control room which would be set up at the City Police Officer’s office.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that there was a plan to install more than 450 CCTV cameras but after a fresh survey, the government decided to install 350 CCTV cameras on different roads and squares.

At least 350 cameras to be installed in one year at cost of Rs10 billion

According to the officials, at some locations, the cameras of the law enforcement agencies were already operational so the new project would skip these spots.

The official said that the provincial caretaker government approved the project. It may be noted that the caretaker government approved the project during a cabinet meeting in October. In August, it had written to the Election Commission of Pakistan to seek permission for this project.

The cameras will be installed at sensitive locations, including bazaars, mosques, railways stations, and entry and exit points of Rawalpindi.

Similarly, key bridges, police stations, prisons, and courts will also be covered by the project.

The official said the optical fibre for these cameras would be laid underground.

He said that all the cameras would be installed by the Punjab Information Technology Board and after this, the project would be handed over to Safe City Authority.

Like Lahore, the safe city project in the garrison city would also be linked with the traffic management system to enforce rules and issue e-challans to violators.

Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha confirmed the total cost of the project at Rs10 billion. It will help the police and administration manage the law and order, particularly during religious events and cricket matches. He said this project would save a lot of money as well, as the district administration “rents CCTV cameras” to install them on the route of Muharram processions and cricket matches. The commissioner justified the need for this mega project, saying with an increase in population, the new technology was necessary for civic facilities.

Initially, the authorities had planned to spend Rs23 billion on this project.

Later on, the expenses and the number of CCTV cameras were rationalised and the estimated cost was significantly reduced.

The commissioner confirmed the control room would be established at the CPO office. “A grey structure at the CPO office is completed; the building will be changed as per the requirement,” he said. The control and command centre will be a consolidated hub of integrated policing regulating swift emergency and police responses, including intelligent traffic management, dispatch of Punjab police, PRU and Dolphin Force, 1122 emergency response, criminal identification/investigations, and virtual surveillance.

Since a similar surveillance project is already operational in the adjoining federal capital, the project in Rawalpindi will improve the law and order situation in conjunction with its counterpart in the federal capital.

After Rawalpindi, a similar project would be launched by the caretaker government in Murree as well.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2023