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A PIL has been filed in the Calcutta High Court alleging misappropriation of funds allotted by the Central Government to install CCTV cameras for women’s safety. High Court bench of directed the state to submit an affidavit disclosing the details of utilization of fund.

The petitioner is a lawyer named Senjuti Mukherjee who has alleged misappropriation of public money. The petition alleges mismanagement of fund of 181 crores allocated to the State for setting up a wide web CCTV surveillance network throughout the city of Kolkata.

In the aftermath of the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape, the central government launched a project called Nirbhaya Fund to build infrastructure. From that fund, Rs 181 crore was allocated for West Bengal. 

Out of this, 56 crore was given to the state in 2019. The petition alleges that the Kolkata police had called for tenders four times since 2019 to install CCTV cameras. But due to lack of interest, that initiative failed four times. The last tender was called in February 2020. Not interested, the Kolkata police returned the money to the IT department.

According to the plaintiff, the IT secretary has imposed strange financial and technical conditions on the call for tenders. As a result, only certain companies will be able to submit tenders for that work. Webel, an agency under the state government, recently called for a tender. But there are also some strange conditions. Allegedly, this kind of work is being done to delay the whole process.

Advocate General S.N. Mookherjee, representing the state has informed that out of 181 crores a part of the amount has been disbursed by the Central Government and steps are being taken to install 1020 CCTV cameras in strategic location and LOI as well as purchase orders have been issued.

The matter is listed on 28th February, 2022.

Case Title: Senjuti Mukhopadhyay Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors