The Kerala government has called for an enquiry into the procurement and installation of 726 AI cameras in the state under the ‘Safe Kerala’ project. The project was an initiative of the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, to reduce road accidents and traffic violations. The state’s Industries Minister P Rajeev announced that the government had received a report from Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keltron) on the allegations, and the Principal Secretary, Industries will examine the Keltron report and the allegations against it.
The Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, contended that the Vigilance probe was not on the AI camera issue, but against the allegedly corrupt activities of a transport department official. Satheesan also alleged that there was corruption and lack of transparency in the implementation of the AI camera project and urged the government to make public informationin the public domain about the project contract, the agreement between the transport department and Keltron and the tendering process carried out by the company.
Keltron is a Government of Kerala undertaking that was established in the 1970s under the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. The company has a number of projects under various departments of the Kerala Government, and provides solutions ranging from audiovisual equipments to IT-enabled telecom solutions. Keltron delivers products and services for civil and defence electronics, instrumentation and educational institutions, among other customers.
P Rajeev is the current Minister for Industries in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Rajeev, who was born in Thrissur, graduated from University College, Thiruvananthapuram, and holds Doctorates from Indira Gandhi National Open University, and from Lucknow University. He was elected to the Kerala Assembly in 2021, and previously served as the Minister of Excise, Sports and Youth Affairs. He has been actively involved in the welfare of farmers and has been a major supporter of the statewide agriculture-related activities. Rajeev is a member of the CPI(M).
