One-hundred-and-fifty-four days have passed but police in the capital seem to be dragging their feet over the implementation of a project they first announced on December 24, 2011 with a four-week deadline.

Patna traffic superintendent of police (SP) Chandrika Prasad told The Telegraph on Friday that the “final decision” on installing closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) at the Station Road, Income Tax, Dakbungalow and Exhibition Road roundabouts, which would provide motorists with live traffic updates, had been taken.

Then Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Alok Kumar had announced the project for the first time on December 24 last year during the launch of the Patna traffic police website, www.patnatrafficpolice.in.

So the question arises about how could the “final decision” on a project, originally carrying an end-January deadline, be taken five months after its scheduled date of completion. Every now and then, announcements were made about the launch of the project. The last one assured that the traffic update system would go online in April. But on Friday, a June date was announced.

“It has been decided that the CCTV cameras will be put up at the four locations in the state capital. Next month, the new building of the traffic police station will be inaugurated, which would house a control room. An engineer of a telecom company surveyed the under-construction building to choose an appropriate spot for the control room. The traffic police are awaiting some funds after which necessary infrastructure work will be completed for the control room. The service will start from next month,” the officer told The Telegraph.

Prasad said: “The service needs to go through an experimentation process after its launch. Traffic updates will be available on the website but the process involves immediate updates and then giving motorists options of alternative routes. A quick response team will be formed for the same.”

Sources said the entire plan, since its first announcement in December, has been moving at a snail’s pace. “When it was first announced, they (police) clearly mentioned the four roundabouts where these cameras would be installed. The SSP then had said the cameras would be installed in four weeks’ time — by January-end this year.

The deadline lapsed. Whenever the police were asked, they kept saying that they needed to check. In end-March, the two Patna-based companies entrusted with the project, Verma Infocomm Private Limited and Mascom Infra Private Limited, said the L-shaped pillars had been installed but the delay was because of hold-up in getting the Internet connection and obtaining no-objection certificates regarding their location sites. They said the work would start and end in April itself. So things have been delayed and fresh deadlines been set whenever the police are quizzed,” a source said.

With no police officer confirming, sources said things got more confusing with the traffic SP saying the four locations had been finalised. “In December, the locations had been announced. With the traffic SP saying that the venues have been finalised, it could be possible that the installation sites would be changed. The installation of the CCTV cameras and the launch of the online traffic updates system still seem to be a distant dream,” said another source.