The company overseeing the Smart City project has filed around 150 complaints across various police stations, but authorities have yet to recover any stolen equipment
The Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) project—Amritsar’s flagship Smart City initiative worth ₹105 crore—has been repeatedly targeted by thieves over the past two years, severely disrupting the city’s surveillance network.
Official data shows that in the last 26 months, nearly 750 batteries worth around ₹50 lakh have been stolen from CCTV camera units installed across the city. Shockingly, several thefts occurred in high-security zones, including areas outside the DCP (Law and Order) office, GT Road near Guru Harkrishan School, the DC office, the Court Complex and Maqboolpura. In three cases, thieves even made away with entire poles along with mounted cameras.
The company overseeing the Smart City project has filed around 150 complaints across various police stations, but authorities have yet to recover any stolen equipment. Due to the repeated thefts, officials have been forced to directly connect nearly 200 CCTV cameras to the main power supply. This makes them non-operational during power cuts, breaking the 24×7 surveillance chain.
While 1,114 cameras remain functional under the ICCC network, monitoring is irregular at nearly 65 locations. Officials said the thieves typically survey the area, cut the main power supply and disable the battery backup before removing equipment.
The ICCC project, launched in February 2023, began facing thefts within months of installation. Batteries have been stolen from 125 locations, with fresh batteries re-stolen at 30 sites. At another 40 points, thieves managed to remove not just batteries but also cables, network switches and UPS units, despite added metal framing and reinforcements.
Mayor Jatinder Singh Bhatia called the incidents a major blow to the city’s safety infrastructure. “The ICCC is vital for city security. I will take up the issue with the Police Commissioner to ensure the culprits are caught and the stolen material recovered. We will also request intensified night patrolling,” he said.
Social activist Pawan Sharma criticised the lack of action, saying the repeated thefts have delayed the ICCC’s full rollout and weakened Amritsar’s real-time security capabilities. “It is a complete administrative failure,” he said.