AI cameras back online, offenders brace for fine notices

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Motorists who assumed Kerala's AI traffic enforcement cameras had gone offline for good may soon be in for an unpleasant surprise. The cameras are once again transmitting live footage after internet connectivity was restored, meaning traffic violations will once again be detected in real time and penalty notices issued without delay.

Internet services to the cameras had been disconnected after Keltron, the agency implementing the AI camera project, failed to clear pending dues of Rs 5 lakh to service provider Jio. As a result, although the cameras continued recording traffic violations, the footage could not be transmitted to the control rooms for processing.

Connectivity was restored after Keltron cleared the outstanding payment following a request from the Motor Vehicles Department to resume the cameras' operation.

The restoration is also expected to trigger a wave of penalty notices for motorists who violated traffic rules while the system was offline. Although the cameras were unable to send footage to the control rooms during the outage, they continued recording violations. Those images are now being transmitted for scrutiny, after which the Motor Vehicles Department will begin issuing notices.

Keltron, meanwhile, is awaiting Rs 55 crore from the state government for the AI camera project. The file seeking release of the funds remains pending with the Finance Department. Despite the delay, Keltron settled Jio's dues in the expectation that the government's payment will be released soon.

The AI camera project has so far generated Rs 330 crore in traffic fines for the government. The revenue is credited directly to the state treasury, while a long-pending proposal to retain the collections in a dedicated Transport Authority account is yet to be acted upon.