New Delhi assembly constituency, representing the political heart of the city, is the most surveilled area in the capital, with 4,694 CCTV cameras in place, according to data on the Delhi govt’s CCTV Phase I and II projects.
In contrast, Vishwas Nagar in East Delhi has the lowest coverage, with just 2,080 cameras.An analysis of CCTV cameras installed in 70 Delhi assembly constituencies shows that while Lutyens Delhi and central Delhi areas have denser CCTV surveillance, East and North-East Delhi areas, which are the most populated areas, have the lowest number of cameras, highlighting a disparity in surveillance infrastructure.
These cameras include only those installed by the PWD under the Delhi govt’s CCTV project.
A retired police officer said densely populated areas require higher CCTV coverage because of higher footfall, traffic movement, and crime vulnerability compared to sparsely populated localities, so that it can work both as a deterrent and an investigative tool. New Delhi is far less populated compared with North-East and East Delhi.Soon, the CCTV surveillance infrastructure is likely to get a major expansion as the BJP govt is planning to add 50,000 more CCTV cameras to the existing network. Rs 100 crore has been sanctioned for it. In 2018, the Delhi govt started a major project to install an extensive network of CCTV cameras across the city, with a focus on public places in residential areas, roads, and markets across the city, aiming to deter crime and provide electronic evidence.
In the first phase, 1,40,000 CCTV cameras were installed by PWD across the 70 constituencies. In numerous cases, the camera feeds were useful not only in deterring criminals but also in helping the police investigate several cases of crime, according to govt reports.
It prompted the govt to install 1,40,000 more CCTV cameras across the constituencies in the second phase, which expanded the coverage to residential colonies and inner neighbourhoods.
The footage from the cameras is accessible to the PWD and the police.While the AAP govt was in power, BJP MLAs, who represented 8 out of the 70 constituencies, including Vishwas Nagar MLA OP Sharma, alleged that the BJP-ruled areas were not getting as many CCTV cameras as the AAP-ruled constituencies. In Feb 2025, when the BJP came to power, Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Verma assured that these constituencies would be prioritised for CCTV coverage.The data, which covers all 70 assembly constituencies, shows that while the govt aimed for a near-uniform deployment of around 4,000 cameras per constituency, several areas significantly overshot or fell well short of that benchmark.But not all cameras are awake. A PWD safety audit conducted last year found that over 7,500 CCTV cameras across Delhi were offline. Officials said reasons included power cuts, technical faults, theft or damage, and dismantling or relocation due to different reasons. “The shortcomings are being addressed by the local PWD officials,” said an official.“The CCTV expansion plans, under which 50,000 additional cameras will be added, are at an advanced stage,” said the PWD official.
