Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel conveyed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday that there was need to improve the resolution of the cameras attached with the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) provided by the Central government for use in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas.
The UAVs are operated by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) from a command centre in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar. They aid the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police in conducting operations against Maoists. The NTRO is a premier technical intelligence agency that reports to the Prime Minister’s Office through the National Security Adviser (NSA).
A senior government official said all UAVs were procured from an Israeli firm about a decade ago and their payload had not been expanded since. “We cannot retrofit the UAVs with extra cameras or tinker with the machine as it will be a violation of contract with the Israeli company. The images are provided to the police and the CRPF to plan their operations,” the official noted.
