Defects in AI cameras; Road Safety Authority freezes ₹34.8 cr payment to Keltron

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Road Safety Authority has frozen payments amounting to ₹34.8 crore after Keltron failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for alleged defects in AI cameras installed under its supervision as part of the ₹232-crore ‘Safe Kerala’ project of the Motor Vehicles Department.

The withheld amount covers three instalments approved by the Transport Department.

A total of 726 AI cameras were installed across the state under Keltron’s supervision. As part of the project agreement, Keltron is required to pay ₹151.22 crore to SRIT, the firm that installed the cameras, in 20 instalments of ₹7.56 crore each.

Under the arrangement, the Road Safety Authority disburses ₹11.61 crore to Keltron every three months. This includes ₹7.56 crore earmarked for SRIT, while the remaining amount is retained by Keltron towards facility management services, consultancy charges, and equipment costs.

In June, it will be three years since the AI cameras were installed, and seven instalments have been paid until now. Four instalments amounting to a total of ₹46.4 crore have been pending since last February. Of these four instalments, the payment of bills for three was approved by the Purchase Monitoring Committee and the Transport Department before being forwarded to the Road Safety Authority. With this payment stalled, an amount of ₹30.24 crore, which Keltron has to pay to SRIT, is also pending.

After the AI cameras were installed, Keltron has so far issued 1.3 crore challans with total fines amounting to ₹900 crore for traffic rule violations and collected ₹300 crore. The collected fines are shared equally by the Transport Department and Road Safety Authority. However, with arrears mounting, Keltron is struggling to meet the expenses for operating its control room having 140 employees and sending challans.

Incidentally, the current Road Safety Commissioner is Director General of Police Yogesh Gupta, who is engaged in a long dispute with the state government.

In its notice to Keltron, the Road Safety Authority had cited issues such as ownership of the cameras, identity of manufacturers, details on the storage facility of the visuals captured and the number of cameras which can read the speed of the vehicles. Many of these questions were also raised by the Opposition. The Vigilance has also registered a case over the purchase of the AI cameras.