Pune News: Hinjawadi IT Park to get 200 CCTV cameras soon

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has finally issued a work order for the installation of CCTV cameras on roads inside the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjawadi. Under this initiative, around 200 CCTV cameras will be installed and the work for the same will commence later this month. The firm that has been given the tender will take the next four to five months to attain completion. 

The first proposal for this action was submitted 16 years ago. IT companies and employees have been raising this issue for a few years but the proposal remained stuck over who would take the payment responsibility. The objection of the police commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad also slowed down the process. According to an MIDC official, they are installing more cameras than what was given in the proposal and they would cover the entire area inside the IT park. Based on the first proposal submitted in 2008, the overall expenditure on this project was Rs 8 crores. However, after a thorough discussion held in 2019, the spending was calculated at Rs 16 crores.

The cost of the project has been significantly reduced down to Rs 5 crore according to an official. Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, has proposed plans to install cameras along with the smart city project. But, PCMC and MIDC both refused to bear the cost since Hinjawadi comes under Gram Panchayat. Later, the MIDC officials got approval from their headquarters to provide finances for this project and a tender was floated after receiving consent from the concerned department. Though the IT Park falls under Gram Panchayat, MIDC does have a certain amount of control over it.

The industries of the IT hub have been demanding a merger of the area with PCMC since the process of voicing their concerns is quite troublesome currently as they need to coordinate with multiple civic bodies.

Joyville