CCEA may take up plan to set up CCTVs, GPS in public transport

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs may take up on Thursday the Road Ministry's proposal of installing closed-circuit televisions in buses and GPS devices in autos for providing women a safer mode of public transport as part of the Rs 1,000 crore ' Nirbhaya Fund'.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, as part of the government's proposed Rs 1,000 crore Nirbhaya Fund, had suggested inducting CCTVs in buses and GPS (global positioning system) facility in autos as party of women safety initiatives.

"The location tracking devices will help in keeping a close watch on the commuters and that recording will remain in the system for atleast a week," sources said.

The government also proposes to engage women as drivers for public transport like buses, taxis etc, and guarantee them jobs.

The Nirbhaya Fund was announced by the government in this year's budget, with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore for safety and empowerment of women.

Nirbhaya (fearless in Hindi) was the pseudonym given to the December 16, 2012, Delhi gang-rape victim to hide her identity. The 23-year old paramedic was gang-raped and brutally assaulted by six persons in a moving bus. She was then thrown out with her male friend. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development and other ministries concerned are also working out on other modalities of the fund.