NMMC’s ambitious Rs150 crore CCTV surveillance project is non-functional and redundant raising serious questions about the civic body’s ability to keep an eye on the city.

Of the 1,500 cameras installed across the municipal corporation limits, only 703 are operational, leaving large areas of the city beyond the surveillance network and increasing the safety risks to the common public.

The information came to light when Sajag Nagrik Manch, a city-based NGO, filed an RTI inquiry.

The contract for the cutting-edge security system was awarded to the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd in 2022 and cost around Rs152.91 lakh.

Just three years later, the project remains incomplete, plagued by mismanagement and poor execution, Arun Kagle, a member of Sajag Nagrik Manch.

Kagle alleged that NMMC had dragged its feet in revealing the information even though an RTI application was filed on November 6 last year. "Only after relentless follow-ups did we get a reply in March 2025," he said.

Members of the Manch, even conducted an on-ground inspection on March 18. Their findings were alarming—ongoing roadwork had severely damaged fiber optic cables, rendering a significant number of cameras useless.

Even though underground ducting is essential for cables, a standard in developed nations, NMMC overlooked this crucial aspect, Kagle pointed out. Frequent road digging and incidents of copper cable theft have crippled the surveillance network, he said.

The NMMC headquarters has a well-equipped CCTV monitoring system. Navi Mumbai police has asked NMMC to set up a CCTV monitoring system in the commissionerate on the lines of the civic body’s HQ. The civic corporation had laid out plans to build a modern CCTV monitoring system in the proposed police commissionerate estimated to cost Rs5 crore.

Pooh-poohing NMMC’s claims of keeping a hawk eye on the city for the safety of its citizens, Kagle questioned, “What are they monitoring when 50 per cent of the cameras remain non-functional?"

Sajag Nagrik Manch intends to take the matter to its logical end. "We will meet the NMMC commissioner and demand immediate corrective action," Kagle said.