Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation has drawn up a ₹98.25 crore, five-year plan to run and upgrade its Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), expanding its network of flood-monitoring systems ahead of the northeast monsoon.The system will expand CCTV surveillance from 668 to 1,256 cameras and increase rain gauges from 30 to 65. GCC will get 40 new floodometers to measure and report waterlogging, along with an additional variable message display (VMD) to project public information. The plan includes internet-based remote monitoring of GCC’s 159 pumps, GPS tracking for 57 enforcement vehicles, 17 automated boom barriers and three regional ICCCs. No additional smart poles are proposed.The civic body has decided to retain CCTV footage for seven days instead of 30 days, and reduce ICCC manpower from 55 to 44. A GCC official said this was primarily a cost-saving measure. “Video storage is a major part of cloud spending,” the official said. The seven-day limit applies to video feeds, while application data, databases, system logs, backups, cybersecurity data and other system information will be retained.Of the ₹98.25 crore, ₹96.36 crore is recurring expenditure and ₹1.90 crore is one-time spending on project components and tech upgrades. Cloud services account for the largest share at ₹36.70 crore, followed by equipment upgrades and maintenance (₹34.13 crore), staff (₹16.60 crore) and internet connectivity (₹10.83 crore).The ICCC, functional since Dec 2020, is linked with 16 GCC departments. It pulls live data from cameras, rain gauges, flood sensors and GCC departments onto a single screen. Officials use it to track garbage collection, complaints and waterlogging, and to coordinate with Greater Chennai Police and disaster management teams. The existing operations and maintenance arrangement is valid until Nov 30, 2026. GCC plans to select a firm to run the centre through an open tender.
