Ramesh alleges corruption in integrated digital traffic project

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged on Tuesday that appointing a private firm to identify traffic violations and slapping fines would pave the way for high-level corruption. He claimed that the ground for corruption is being set with regards to integrated digital traffic enforcement project worth Rs 180 crore.
Chennithala said the move was to bypass Sidco, which is a government firm that had submitted a proposal in this regard, and hand over the project to a private firm by colluding with Keltron. He alleged that the move is to grant over 90% of the revenue to the private company as service and maintenance charges, while only 10% will be the government’s share.
He added that the company is planning to install 350 speed limit violation cameras, 30 red-light detection cameras and 100 helmet absence detection cameras across the state. The company has no capacity to handle a project of this magnitude, Chennithala alleged.
Meanwhile, the state police denied all the allegations he made. In the past 14 months, the police had invited e-tender for the project thrice. Of this, only one company submitted the tender twice and the third time, two companies participated. The evaluation committee for the tenders included experts from IT, C-DAC, Natpac and motor vehicles department other than top policemen.
The technical evaluation, including field test, is underway. Only after the completion of technical evaluation the financial bid will be opened, the statement said.
The statement further added that which company will receive the project will be decided only after the government inspects the final award and an order is issued.