Kerala: Keltron urges state government to pay for AI Camera installation
The Kerala government has allegedly not paid the funds to Keltron for the installation of AI Cameras across the state. The Keltron claims they never received the first installment.
FollowThiruvananthapuram: In September, the Kerala High Court granted permission to the state government to pay the first installment of the 'Safe Kerala' project, which involves installing AI-enabled cameras for traffic surveillance, to the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (Keltron). Following the opposition Congress party's legal action alleging widespread corruption in the project, the High Court had in June prohibited the government from paying any money to the state-owned corporation in connection with the project.
However, Keltron said they will not be able to move forward with the control rooms if the funding for the state's AI camera installation is not granted. Keltron notified the government of its firm position in a scenario where not even the initial payment for the installation of cameras was received. As of now, Keltron is funding the project entirely with its monthly expenditure of Rs 1 crore. The new cameras were placed on the road with great hype six months ago. The Keltron claims they never received the first installment.
Keltron has paid challan fines of Rs 100 crore collected from individuals in 14 districts so far. As of last week, the exchequer received a fine of Rs 33 crores. Keltron had an expenditure of Rs 232 crore. According to the terms of the MoU, Keltron would receive payment from the government in installments. Once every three months was the agreed-upon amount. The initial payment of Rs 11.79 crore was due. The government ultimately chose to pay the money through a subcontract after the Cabinet meeting determined that the Memorandum of Understanding had a defect. Even there was no final decision made on the sub-contract.
Even after the High Court's order, the government has not paid a single penny to Keltron. The enterprise alone is paying the salary of 140 staff members and other expenses include control room operation and challan printing.
Keltron is a Public Sector Enterprise owned by the Government of Kerala and is managed by a Board of Directors.
Keltron has informed the government that if the money is not paid immediately, the operation of the control rooms will not be able to proceed. According to Keltron, the camera project is being run using income from other projects. A high-powered committee under the department had recommended a month ago that out of the 726 cameras, only 692 are operational and accordingly Rs 9.39 crore is sufficient.
