Better Urban Security
The Safe Cities Index 2021 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (the research and analysis division of The Economist Group) features only two Indian cities – New Delhi and Mumbai – in its list of 60 safest cities.
With a rank of 48 and a score of 56.1, New Delhi was ahead of Mumbai that was ranked 50 with a score of 54.4.
CCTV cameras for better safety
- The AAP Delhi Government promised on 24 Jun 2019 to install 2000 Cameras in every assembly constituency of Delhi. Manish Sisodia Deputy CM launched the project from his constituency.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
- In Phase 1 of the project, the Delhi govt installed 2.75 lakh CCTVs by Dec 2021.
- Forbes magazine recently revealed, in a study on 25 Aug 2021, that Delhi has the highest number of CCTVs per square mile, more than New York, London, and Tokyo. In an analysis of 150 cities across the world, Delhi topped with 1826 CCTVs per square mile. It is noteworthy that no other Indian city is even close to Delhi, which has 3 times the CCTVs than Chennai and 11 times that of Mumbai per square mile.
- Phase 2 will add another 1.4 lakh more CCTV cameras. The city will soon have a total of 4.15 lakh cameras.
- While the network of CCTV cameras provides street safety to women and children in Delhi, it also helped the Delhi Police with their investigation in solving more than 100 key cases.
(Source: Times of India)
- People of Delhi can also apply to have a camera installed at their choice of public place.
STREET LIGHTS
The Mukhyamantri Street Light Yojna was launched in Sep 2019 to install 2.1 lakh street lights (the biggest capacity enhancement plan of its sort anywhere in the world). By Sep 2021, 1,17,314 street lights had been installed.
“We encourage all the people of Delhi to participate in identifying locations that need better lighting. Women’s safety is our priority and we will install as many street lights and use as many resources as possible to ensure the security of women in the city.” – Arvind Kejriwal (30th Dec 2019 – Link)
(See Section on “Social Security and Welfare – Women Empowerment and Child Development” for more details.)
Better Digital Connectivity
FREE WIFI HOTSPOTS
Mukhymantri Free WiFi Yojna was launched in Dec 2019 with a target of setting up of 11,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots in the city that would allow smartphone and computer users to use 15GB of internet data every month at a maximum speed of 200 mbps.
Each hotspot has a radius of 100 meters. On an average, Wi-Fi at the speed of 100 to 200 Mbps is being provided to 150-200 concurrent users.
A single user, with one ID, will be allowed a limit of 15 GB downloadable data per month. Maximum 1.5 GB data will be given per day for free.
10,561 wifi hotspots had been established in Delhi by Aug 2021 and the government approved the continuation of the free Wi-Fi Scheme.
“The Kejriwal government has so far set up hotspots at 10,561 places in the capital. Delhi is the first city in the world where the government has provided free Wi-Fi facility for the entire city. Out of these, 2,208 hotspots have been installed at bus stops, while 8,353 have been installed at other places. People are getting free Wi-Fi facility every 500 m. Now, more than 21 lakh people can avail the free Wi-Fi facility simultaneously.” – Delhi Government Statement (Link)
