Service of AI cameras in Kerala remains suspended as Finance department fails to clear pending bills

The Kerala Finance department’s delay in clearing Keltron’s quarterly bills has disrupted the services of AI-powered traffic cameras installed across the State. Internet services for the cameras were disconnected by the service provider, Jio, after Keltron failed to clear the dues of the private company responsible for the connectivity.

The Finance department releases quarterly funds to Keltron through the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) for operating the facility. The KRSA, in turn, is responsible for paying the annuity bills to Keltron.

Payments have been pending for the last 15 months, resulting in arrears of around ₹60 crore owed to Keltron. According to a senior Transport department official, KRSA can make the payments only after the Finance department sanctions funds from the Kerala Road Safety Fund. Consequently, the delay in releasing funds by the Finance department has disrupted the services.

Court directive

Meanwhile, SRIT India Private Ltd., the Bengaluru-based implementing company of the project, had approached the Kerala High Court over the delay in receiving payments from the State government through Keltron. Last month, the High Court directed the State government and the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) to release, through Keltron, the outstanding dues payable to the private firm that installed and maintains the AI-enabled automated traffic enforcement cameras on National Highways and major arterial roads across the State under the Safe Kerala Project.

The State owes SRIT an outstanding quarterly payment of ₹36 crore, which must be cleared within one month in accordance with the High Court’s order. The project, which was instrumental in reducing road accident fatalities by around 400 in a year, has so far generated approximately ₹350 crore in revenue for the State exchequer. Moreover, if all pending challans are processed and the corresponding fines are collected, the total fines could reach roughly around ₹1,000 crore, according to a senior Keltron official.

The total project cost was ₹235 crore when it was launched in 2022, including the operation and maintenance costs for five years. According to an MVD official, the cameras remain fully operational even now. However, the process of generating and issuing challans after processing the images captured by the cameras at the enforcement control centres has been disrupted due to the interruption in internet connectivity.