The state government’s ambitious project to lay a surveillance web of CCTV cameras across the city is stuck between two lobbies: one that is backing the third-generation wireless technology or 3G to connect the entire network of cameras to the central server, and another rooting for the traditional optical fibre network.

Also read: Mumbai to get 2,000 CCTV cameras by October end

The government appointed high-power committee looking into the project is torn between leading 3G firms lobbying with the state government for establishing a wireless CCTV network that would be cheaper and faster in roll-out speed, but Mumbai Police, led by the Director General Of Police (DGP) Sanjeev Dayal, is opposed to this. The cops are adamant on a network that is based on an underground cable network, which is more secure and is executed by public sector undertakings (PSUs), like the MTNL.