HC slams contractors for delay in set up of CCTV cameras at police stations in Maharashtra

By PTI

MUMBAI: Under hearth for delaying the set up of CCTV cameras at police stations throughout Maharashtra, one of many contractors for the mission tried establishing his bona fide earlier than the Bombay High Court on Friday stating that the cameras it had put in in New Delhi had helped the police establish the “culprits” within the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Javi Systems India Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru-based firm, made the submission earlier than a bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav. The bench had directed Javi, and the opposite contractor, Pune-based Sujata Computers, to stay current in court docket on Friday to clarify the delay within the work.

As per the listening to, whereas the set up of CCTV cameras was to be accomplished inside 22 weeks from the date the contract was finalised in August final yr, the 2 contractors had put in solely half of the focused variety of cameras and had sought 16 extra weeks to finish the work.

Maharashtra Advocate General (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhakoni knowledgeable the court docket that the 2 contractors regretted the delay and had been prepared to provide an endeavor explaining the identical to provide the court docket an thought of by when the work shall be accomplished.

The contractors additional advised the court docket that that they had accomplished 65 per cent of the work commissioned, and the remainder shall be carried out inside “eight to 10 days”. Kumbhakoni advised the court docket that the contractors had carried out good work prior to now and therefore, had been chosen by the state authorities for the Rs 65 crore mission.

Two years in the past, the corporate did a metropolis surveillance CCTV mission for Delhi, the counsel for Javi stated. “They are saying that their system helped the Delhi administration identify the culprits in the Delhi riots,” the AG advised the court docket about Javi.

The High Court then requested why the state authorities had not chosen L&T, which had put in the CCTV cameras at site visitors indicators throughout Mumbai. “It is very awkward to say this in open court, but L&T says that it doesn’t engage in ‘paan bidi shop work’. Rs 65 crore was too less for them,” Kumbhakoni stated.

The court docket then interjected to say that it did not care even when the funds was Rs 650 crore, so long as the work was accomplished. “Let the budget be Rs 650 crore. We don’t mind. But the project must be completed and the SC order must be complied with fully. We just want the end result,” the bench stated.

“We are not at all satisfied with the way these contracts were given in the present case. There were 13 more bidders and the only thing is that the bids by these two were considerably low, and very similar to each other (these two),” it stated.

The High Court has sought the endeavor from the 2 contractors by March 15, the following date of listening to.