Delhi's Safe City Project: Surveillance at the Forefront

The Safe City Project approved by the Union Home Ministry involves deploying facial recognition on CCTV cameras to monitor suspects and criminals in Delhi. The project, managed by Delhi Police, includes an Integrated Command Center. The implementation raises questions about the legal safeguards for preventing unauthorized surveillance.

The Union Home Ministry has approved the 'Safe City Project' for Delhi, which will introduce facial recognition technology on selected CCTV cameras to monitor suspects and criminals, as confirmed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai announced the project's approval for implementation by Delhi Police. The plan also includes the establishment of an Integrated Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Centre (C4I) and the installation of CCTV cameras throughout the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

During a question session, Rajya Sabha MP Sakte Gokhale raised concerns regarding the legal permissions needed for deploying such surveillance measures and the safeguards that protect against unauthorized surveillance using facial recognition technology.

(With inputs from agencies.)