The Assembly on Tuesday witnessed yet another round of sparring between the government and the Opposition over the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled traffic cameras installed to detect traffic offences in the State.
United Democratic Front (UDF) legislators accused the government of awarding the contract for the project to the State-run Keltron in annuity mode, despite opting for the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, Transfer) model during the tender process.
Dismissing the allegation, Transport Minister Antony Raju asserted the government decided to adopt the annuity mode for the project well in advance since such an arrangement ensured the Motor Vehicles Department did not have to pay a large sum upfront. Besides, the agreement also made Keltron legally bound to undertake maintenance even after the guarantee period. The project proposal, he added, was sent to the Finance department for scrutiny at various stages.
Calling the agreement a “total package” which had aroused the interest of various States, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka, he said Keltron had been tasked with ensuring the supply of camera components, establishing the control room, maintenance for five years, footing the salary of 146 staff members, meeting the expenses for issuing challans, Internet, and electricity supply.
Mr. Raju said Keltron had quoted possibly the “lowest rate in the country or even globally” for the components required for AI cameras.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan maintained the Opposition did not find fault with the installation of AI cameras but corruption under the cover of the project. Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan courted controversy when he said Keltron was being dragged into a scam despite “not manufacturing even a screw or tightening a bolt”.
This was countered by Industries Minister P. Rajeeve who said the public sector undertaking made the State proud by supplying several vital components to several of the nation’s prestigious projects, including Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1.
Accidents declining
The Transport Minister also presented statistics that revealed a considerable fall in the number of accidents and casualties since the introduction of AI cameras.
The following are the counts in 2023 and that of the corresponding month in 2022 (in brackets). Accidents: June – 1,756 (3,714), July – 2,571 (3,316), August – 1,281 (3,366). Fatalities: June - 277 (344), July – 273 (313), August 181 (307). Injuries: June – 4,245 (4,516), July – 3,113 (3,999), August – 2,385 (4040).
