The Maharashtra government came under scrutiny on Wednesday during the ongoing Monsoon Session of the state Assembly over delays in the installation of CCTV cameras in government-run schools across the state. A starred question jointly raised by over 35 MLAs, including senior leaders such as Vijay Wadettiwar, Vikas Thakare, Nana Patole, and Aslam Shaikh, sought clarification from the School Education Minister on the status of compliance with a Bombay High Court directive mandating CCTV coverage in schools to enhance student safety.

The legislators questioned whether the High Court had, around May, directed the state to install CCTV cameras in all the schools before the commencement of the academic year to prevent incidents of sexual abuse and ensure student security. They further asked if the state had been given a two-month timeline for the implementation of the High Court direction, and whether only 50,000 out of the total 1,05,052 schools had CCTV systems installed so far.

The query also highlighted an alleged delay in the implementation in Yavatmal district, where an allocation of Rs 9 crore under the District Planning Committee (DPC) was reportedly made for CCTV installation in 395 schools, but the work remained incomplete as of May.