Bhubaneswar, June 20: The state transport department has not moved an inch with their proposal to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and global positioning system (GPS) devices in all private and government buses in the last two years.

The matter came to focus again after a 22-year-old woman slapped a conductor allegedly for touching her inappropriately in a running bus near Palamandap in Cuttack on Sunday.

In April 2015, the state transport department had issued a draft notification in this regard and had sought one-month's time for receiving suggestions from bus operators' associationsin this regard. But the draft notification was never pushed forward to the next step.

At present, only the 12 air-conditioned buses plying under city bus service in Bhubaneswar are equipped with CCTV cameras.

Around 14,000 private and 300 government buses are ply on various routes in the state.

In June 2013, the helper of an air-conditioned luxury bus allegedly raped a 25-year-old tribal girl while she was on her way to Cuttack. Police had arrested the accused.

Also, the law says that 30 per cent of seats in buses must be reserved for women passengers, which is not practised most of the times.

"Passengers need to lodge a complaint with the concerned regional transport offices against buses not keeping 30 per cent seats reserved for women. The permit of buses found guilty can be suspended," said a senior transport officer.

General secretary of Private Bus Owners' Association Debendra Sahu blamed the state government for not progressing with the idea of installation of CCTV cameras and GPS devices in all buses. "Installation of CCTV cameras in the buses would have helped prevent incidents of pickpocket and harassments. Besides, the owners of the buses will also come to know about the exact number of passengers travelling in the buses, which will help them in getting their exact dues in terms of profit. During the draft notification process, we had also raised the issue of finding a perfect place for installation of CCTVs in the buses so that the cameras can not be touched or obstructed by the passengers," said Sahu.

State commerce and transport minister Nrushingha Charan Sahu said that the department would soon convene a meeting to review the draft notification. "We will also discuss the matter with the bus owners' association and will come up with steps to ensure safety of women in running buses," said Sahu.

However, he did not say a word on why the plan did not move an inch in the last two years.