E-governance: Committee under cabinet secretary Pradip Kumar Sinha to review CCTNS

NEW DELHI: A committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary Pradip Kumar Sinha will review Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems ( CCTNS), a mission mode project aimed at improving policing through e-governance which has been facing hurdles in implementation, officials said.

This comes after a recent presentation before Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the working and progress of CCTNS was demonstrated by the home ministry through three police stations in UP, Karnataka and Assam.

Officials said after the review the home ministry plans to present its case again before the Union Cabinet for restoration of funds for the scheme. In April, the finance ministry transferred CCTNS to the states, which are expected to fund it from their increased share of central taxes, raising concerns over the implementation of the scheme.

The home ministry in July lobbied for restoration of funds, unsuccessfully so, and was directed instead to evaluate progress of CCTNS.

During the review by the PM, the police station of Cubban park in Bengaluru, Panbazar in Guwahati and Tundala police station in UP gave a presentation on how the complaint is processed and then a first information report filed electronically under the CCTNS project.

Modi, officials said, keenly watched the process of electronic registration of FIRs, but left without making any comment on the working and progress of CCTNS. In its presentation before the PMO, the home ministry said at least 10 states have been integrated with CCTNS and the progress is in an “advanced” stage.