'Safe-city' plan for women to start soon in eight metropolises including Mumbai

A comprehensive 'safe-city' plan for women will soon be kicked off in eight metropolises, including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where a robust emergency response system and police verified public transport will come into place, the Home Ministry said on Wednesday. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba today reviewed the plans
which will be implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Hyderabad. A comprehensive review was undertaken to gauge the progress and examine steps taken by the police and civil administration of these eight cities regarding women's safety, a home ministry statement said.

A comprehensive 'safe-city' plan for women will soon be kicked off in eight metropolises, including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Representational picture

The issues which have come up for discussions include 33 per cent 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 and crime-prone areas and involvement of educational institutions, among others. Municipal commissioners, police commissioners, senior state government officials and civil society representatives attended the steering committee meeting constituted by the home ministry under the chairmanship of the home secretary.

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; 'Hawkeye' mobile app and '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 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.

It was brought to notice that police representatives are taking steps in the direction of implementing the target of 33 percent reservation for women in police. 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 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 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 the approach to women's safety can thus be fine-tuned. Gauba emphasised on 'targeted intervention' by the police and civil administration, which will have larger impact on women's safety. The home secretary 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.