New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday rolled out the first phase of the Safe City Project, which is set to reshape Delhi’s internal security landscape by transitioning it into a smarter, more secure urban environment.At the heart of the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 857 crore, is the deployment of a massive, AI-powered surveillance network comprising a modern integrated command, control, communication and computer centre (C4I) besides advanced policing setups. The C4I will serve as the sophisticated “nerve centre” for the city’s security operations.In the first phase, 10,000 cameras will link every corner of Delhi; 2,100 cameras have already gone live and the work of integrating more than 15,000 existing cameras with the system has been completed.Speaking at the 79th raising day ceremony of Delhi Police, Shah detailed a futuristic roadmap transitioning from traditional policing methods to a high-tech, integrated surveillance and legal framework. “This project will significantly enhance Delhi’s security in the coming days,” Shah said.He also laid the foundation stones for 10 new Delhi Police projects aimed at creating a technologically advanced and impenetrable security umbrella for the capital. Among these is an integrated headquarters of the special cell being built at a cost of Rs 368 crore. This, the home minister said, will become the country’s most modern centre for tackling narcotics and terrorism. “It will be equipped with a state-of-the-art indoor firing range, war room, cyber lab, training hall and various other modern facilities,” he added.Praising Delhi Police for its investigation into last Nov’s car blast near Red Fort, Shah said it is important that Delhi’s security meets the highest global standards. “Due to many national and international events that are held here, as well as the presence of the offices and residences of the PM and the President in the city, the responsibility of Delhi Police increases significantly.The special cell has played a significant role in investigating narcotics syndicates, busting fake currency rackets, tackling organised crime and complex cybercrimes, and probing several major terrorist incidents, not only in Delhi, but across the country,” he said.The period from 2014 to 2026 with PM Modi at the helm will be recorded as the golden period of India’s internal security, Shah said. “Before 2014, our country faced three problems — unrest in Jammu & Kashmir, Left-wing extremism and a volatile northeast — that had been challenging our internal security. After the repeal of Article 370, we succeeded in reducing violence in Kashmir. We are very close to completely eradicating Naxalism, and we will certainly succeed in making the entire country free from Naxal violence by this March 31,” he added.In northeast, over 10,000 youths have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream, and through more than 12 peace agreements, significant work has taken place towards establishing peace in the region, the home minister said.“We introduced three new criminal laws, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act. Within the next two years, after the full implementation of the new laws, any FIR filed anywhere in the country will receive a final decision up to the Supreme Court within three years. A separate chapter has been added to these laws for crimes against children and women. E-FIRs and Zero FIRs have been given legal backing... For the first time, community service has been legalised as a punishment for minor offences… Provision has also been made for the confiscation and seizure of properties of proclaimed offenders located outside India,” Shah said. The successful integration of these laws with the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) will ensure that the entire process — from the registration of an FIR to the final judgment — becomes digital and time-bound, he added.
