Ranchi, Feb. 25: The state government will bring major thoroughfares of the state capital under CCTV surveillance, the promise following statements by MLAs pointing to the deteriorating law and order situation of Ranchi and other parts of the state.

While the Opposition, led by JVM legislature party leader Pradeep Yadav, spoke of the sudden spurt in crime in the state capital,

BJP's Bokaro MLA Biranchi Narayan sought a timeline for the installation of CCTV cameras in the industrial towns of the state.

Yadav's concerns about the "deteriorating" law and order situation in Ranchi, prompted an immediate reaction from Speaker Dinesh Oraon. He asked the state government to submit a detailed report on the incidents of crime, along with actual numbers, in Ranchi.

Notably, incidents of murders, loots and snatchings seem to have increased in the state capital. Last week, land broker Chhotu Sahu was shot dead in Chutia, while transporter Aditya Singh was gunned down in broad daylight on Tuesday at Pandra. The same evening a man was fired upon at Namkum.

Biranchi Narayan wanted to know when industrial towns like Jamshedpur and Dhanbad would be brought under CCTV cover. "I have given Rs 12 lakh from my MLA fund in Bokaro for installation of CCTV cameras. It has helped a lot in control of crime in the city. There is a control room in the SP's office, which monitors the CCTV footage. Many cases have been cracked as a result," he said.

The Bokaro MLA, who revealed that similar CCTV projects had been undertaken at Sahebganj town by Rajmahal MLA Anant Kumar Ojha, clarified that he had to take special permission from state rural development department as the utilisation of MLA funds was under its jurisdiction.

Rural development minister Neelkanth Singh Munda welcomed the suggestion and said that the state government would install CCTV cameras in major thoroughfares of the state capital on a pilot basis.

"We will implement it in other cities after monitoring the Ranchi experiment to see how it succeeds in controlling crime," he said.

But, Speaker Oraon's concern about security within the Assembly premises was most alarming.

"The budget session is on and the Vidhan Sabha premises should have best security possible. But today, when I was inspecting the premises at 10.45am, I was aghast to know that the CCTV monitoring room was closed. Batayen ki prashashan sust hai ya durust hai (tell me whether the administration is sleeping or alert)," he asked.