New Delhi: The Union Home Secretary chaired a meeting to kick start the process of formulating comprehensive safe city plans for women in eight metropolitan cities of the country – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Hyderabad. Municipal Commissioners, Police Commissioners, senior State Government officials and Civil Society representatives attended the Steering Committee meeting constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Chairmanship of Union Home Secretary which was notified on Ocober 31, 2017.
During the meeting, the Home Secretary took a comprehensive review of the progress made and steps taken by the police and civil administration of these eight metropolitan cities regarding women’s safety. Various issues reviewed included 33% reservation of women in police, installation of CCTV cameras, deployment of women in police stations, emergency response system, police verified public transport, prevention of cyber crime, infrastructure issues, mapping of dark spots & crime-prone areas and involvement of educational institutions, among others. The initiatives taken by these cities for women’s safety were also discussed in detail. These initiatives include Himmat App, All Women Patrol Van, Shishtachar programme of Delhi police; SHE teams, Hawkeye Mobile App & Bharosa programme of Hyderabad police; Suraksha App of Bengaluru police and Power Angels of UP police. The steps taken by other metro cities including mobile counselling vans for hearing the grievances of women, lighting in the sub-urban railway station areas, complaint boxes in the colleges, dedicated helpline for women, awareness programmes organised by the police, setting up of shelter homes for women and making provisions for street lighting were also discussed.
During the meeting, it was brought to the notice that police representatives are taking steps in the direction of implementing the target of 33% reservation of women in police and gradually moving towards the set target. It was informed that more than one lakh women are using Himmat App, which has been made bilingual by Delhi Police. The use of social media platforms for women’s safety was also emphasised during the meeting. The representatives also discussed various measures which can reduce the response time and thus ensure better results. The setting up of norms for standardisation of luminosity for CCTV cameras was also discussed by the participants.
The Home Secretary said that independent analysis and feedback system should be institutionalised to assess the perception of women on ground regarding their safety issues. Their feedback and suggestions on various issues can also be incorporated after independent survey and our approach to women’s safety can thus be fine tuned. Shri Rajiv Gauba emphasised on ‘targeted intervention’ by the police and civil administration, which will have larger impact on women’s safety. Shri Gauba emphasised on Integrated Command and Control Centres and on collaborative monitoring by police and privately installed CCTV cameras. This integration should be in a time-bound and phased manner, he stressed.
It was decided that the police and municipal corporations of these eight cities will frame a plan of action. The plan will be forwarded by the respective State Level Committee headed by the Chief Secretary of the state. The plan of action to be submitted by these cities within a month will be assessed by the Steering Committee headed by the Union Home Secretary, which will make suitable recommendations.
The representatives of Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways were also present during the meeting.
