22% of CCTV cameras in Parliament are non-functional

NEW DELHI: Nearly 100 of the 450 CCTV cameras installed in Parliament are non-functional, a panel of MPs chaired by former home secretary and Arrah MP R K Singh has found. The panel, set up in August last year to review the security set-up in Parliament complex and suggest ways to strengthen it, has identified a host of gaps that need to be plugged with a manpower and equipment upgrade.

The committee of three MPs - Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh and fomer Rajasthan DGP Harish Chandra Meena - in its report submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has recommended replacement of the faulty CCTV cameras, deployment of additional quick reaction teams at the Parliament gates, besides an upgraded vehicle scanning system and explosive detectors.

A copy of the report was also marked to the Union home ministry. The panel found inadequacies in the protective gear used by Parliament Duty Group (PDG) guarding the complex, and called for better bullet-proof jackets and modern weapons.

The committee has recommended that the PDG personnel be put through firing practice, to ensure that they and their weapons are in a state or readiness to handle any security breach. The Union Home Ministry has taken the report very seriously and action will be taken on it soon.

Interestingly, the report is said to have recommended that secretary-level officers may be allowed inside Parliament complex in their official vehicles.

The committee's report has proposed increase in number of sniffer dogs deployed in Parliament and erection of additional observation towers, besides recommending upgradation of the communication system and tighter standard operating procedures. Better radio frequency tags, enhanced integrated security system and better coordination and communication between various security agencies engaged in Parliament security are other proposals included in the report.

Parliament House building was the target of a terror attack on December 13, 2001, after five armed terrorists drove into the complex in a vehicle carrying a forged pass. All the terrorists, linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, were killed after being engaged by the security personnel. Eight personnel and a gardener also died in the encounter.

The attack had resulted in a major security upgrade in Parliament building, with central forces being deployed in good strength outside the complex and nearly Rs 100 crore being spent on installation of hi-tech gadgets like boom barriers and tyre busters. CRPF, Delhi Police and Parliament's own security staff are currently deployed for the entire complex.

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