Image used for representational purpose only MUMBAI: Environmentalists ’ demand to get a CCTV camera surveillance for mangroves will soon be met with the state forest department floating tender for a Rs 120 crore high-tech CCTV network to cover the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) from Dahisar to Panje wetland and Colaba to Panvel. With 669 cameras and a centralised monitoring system, the video surveillance will cover 195 “sensitive” mangrove zones in zones such as - Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, Navi Mumbai, Panvel and Uran. Mangrove Cell head S V Ramarao said that this CCTV project will not only to ensure safety and security of mangrove areas but will instil confidence among the citizens that the environment of the city is being protected and nurtured.
The network will have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, integrated with the data of VAAHAN Sarathi as well as databases of Passport, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), Prisons, and Automated Multimodal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS). The State Mangrove Cell under the Forest Department floated a request for proposal (RFP) on Wednesday and the e-tenders will close on September 24. The tenders will be opened on October 15.
The surveillance network should be up and running in less than a year if everything goes as planned, a top official said. NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar who has been actively campaigning for over five years for saving the mangroves and CCTV surveillance.