A media report said Delhi has 1,826.6 CCTV cameras installed per square mile (Representational)
Citing a media report, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the national capital has left mega cities like New York, London and Shanghai behind in terms of most number of CCTV cameras installed per square mile and congratulated the officers and engineers concerned for achieving the milestone.
Citing a Forbes India report on the most-surveilled cities of the world, which put Delhi on the top with 1,826.6 CCTV cameras per square mile, followed by London with 1,138, the chief minister tweeted: "Feel proud to say that Delhi beats cities like Shanghai, NY n London with most CCTV cameras per sq mile. Delhi has 1826 cameras, London has 1138 cameras per sq mile.
"My compliments to our officers and engineers who worked in mission mode n achieved it in such a short time (sic)."
Chennai secured the third place with 609.9 CCTV cameras and Mumbai occupied the 18th position with 157.4 CCTV cameras per square mile, the Forbes India report said.
In Delhi, CCTV cameras are being installed by the Public Works Department (PWD).
According to a government statement, 2.75 lakh cameras were installed in the first phase and the work is underway for installing 1.4 lakh cameras at public spaces.
"In an analysis of 150 cities across the world, Delhi topped with 1,826 CCTVs per square mile.... Delhi has 1,826 CCTVs installed per square mile, three times higher than Chennai and 11 times higher than Mumbai," the statement said.
It alleged that despite continuous roadblocks from the lieutenant governor and the Centre, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government did not deter in enhancing women's safety in Delhi and even sat on a dharna outside the LG's residence in order to pave the way for the CCTV project.
"The Lieutenant Governor, citing concerns against CCTVs in Delhi, arbitrarily formed a committee on the matter that would, in effect, bypass the people's elected government. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led the Delhi government to resist this and refused to back down despite all the pressure from the Centre," the statement said.
It added that the LG's committee proposed bringing back the "License Raj" in the city and recommended that it be made mandatory to obtain licences to install CCTV cameras -- be it a public body or a private one.
"This would have, in effect, led to red-tapism, which would require citizens to seek licences from the police to put up CCTVs.
"It is due to the persistence and penance by the chief minister, who sat on a dharna and constantly protested at the LG House against his arbitrary orders, that the way for the execution of the CCTV project could be paved," the statement said.
The government said the CCTV installation project in Delhi exemplifies "swaraj" (self-governance) as resident welfare associations (RWAs) were involved in surveying the locations where the cameras should be put up. Not just gated colonies but all localities of Delhi, including slums, were covered in the project.
Under the project, each RWA or market association has 30 to 40 cameras to cover their respective areas.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)