Nagpur: The city’s much-publicised Smart and Safe surveillance system is staring at a serious credibility crisis, with police flagging nearly 2,000-2,200 unmapped locations that still remain outside the CCTV network nearly seven years after the project was launched.At present, around 700 junctions across Nagpur are under surveillance through more than 3,600 cameras. However, police officials have formally requested the civic authorities to urgently expand the system, pointing out that large stretches of the city continue to function as blind spots, weakening crime monitoring and traffic enforcement. Senior officials said the expansion of CCTV network has become unavoidable as several critical areas were never covered when the Smart City surveillance project was implemented in 2018-19. Prominent localities such as Mahal and Vidhan Bhavan Square still lack adequate number of cameras despite being among the busiest zones in the city. With the city expanding rapidly over the past few years, many newly developed stretches and arterial roads remain completely unmapped. The Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) has now decided to conduct a fresh survey of the entire city within the next four months to identify additional locations that need to be brought under surveillance through a project management consultant (PMC). “Once the survey is completed, the Smart City authorities, along with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, will submit a detailed report to the state govt seeking additional funds for expanding the CCTV network,” officiating NSSCDCL chief executive officer and additional municipal commissioner Vasumana Pant told TOI. The situation has been further complicated by operational and maintenance issues. On Aug 12, 2025, the Smart City administration awarded a five-year operation and maintenance contract worth Rs70 crore to Keltron. Despite this, nearly 1,287 cameras have reportedly developed faults and require urgent repairs, forcing the authorities to rope in three separate agencies to restore the system. Keltron has also flagged a lack of work fronts on several stretches, including major junction corridors such as the road from Agrasen Square to Ashok Chowk and parts of Koradi Road. Officials said nearly 100 “non-operational devices” (NODs) are yet to be restored due to unresolved infrastructure issues.The existing network was originally installed by Larsen & Toubro Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. However, after the company’s agreement ended, it exited the project, leaving more than 1,300 cameras non-functional for long periods — a lapse that police say severely affected surveillance in sensitive zones.
