After being delayed for six years, the Maharashtra home department’s ambitious project for installation of CCTVs in Mumbai has got a fresh lease of life. Two companies, Larsen and Toubro and Trimax, have submitted final bids for the project. September 1 was the last date for submission. A senior official from the home department said, “We have received response from two companies as they have submitted their bids. One is Larsen and Toubro and the other Trimax.”
The Rs.1,200 crore project will be delegated to one of the two companies after further selection. The selected company will be given the entire work for installation of 5,000 CCTV cameras across the city as part of security measures taken to thwart incidents like the 26/11 terror attacks. While 20 companies had shown interest in the project and approached the government in August, only two submitted the final bids.
In the past, the tendering process had been cancelled three times over technical issues and none of the companies had come forward for the bidding. This was effectively the fourth attempt by the home department to float tenders for installation of CCTVs. First announced after the 26/11 attacks in 2008, the project was initially pegged at `700 crore but costs escalated with the passage of time.
The delay received a lot of flak from the Opposition and home minister R.R. Patil was targetted. The project was then given to a committee headed by the then chief secretary. However, the committee too failed to find a company to undertake the work.
