PANAJI
Goa’s ambitious plan to place its roads under artificial intelligence surveillance has run into early turbulence, with technical glitches delaying enforcement and raising concerns about the reliability of automated policing.
The State government had announced that AI-driven traffic management and enforcement would be rolled out at 92 locations, with 14 junctions in South Goa slated to go live by the end of February. Days after the deadline, however, sources said the rollout had to be stalled due to unresolved errors flagged with Beltech AI Private Limited, the Bengaluru-based company tasked with installing the infrastructure.
Among several issues, officials pointed to the issuance of questionable challans, including penalties levied on brand-new vehicles for lacking Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, even though such certification is not required in the first year after purchase.
“When a vehicle is purchased, it does not require a PUC certificate for a year. But even a slight delay beyond that period was prompting challans for the previous year as well,” the source said, adding that the issue was flagged for rectification.
Officials indicated that “teething problems” are still unresolved, with no clear timeline yet set for full operationalisation of the system.
A government response, outlining the project, said the Public Works Department is implementing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)-based violation detection under the Road Safety Authority on a public-private partnership model across 92 locations.
In North Goa, the Merces junction, itself emblematic of the project’s earlier setbacks, is again part of the broader push, even though it does not figure in the official list of 92 locations. The AI system installed there in March 2023 had stopped functioning soon after launch due to technical issues, including alleged software failures.
After nearly three years of inactivity, the government earlier this year moved to revive the system, once again with Beltech AI at the helm, while turning down a proposal from Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited.
Officials had pitched the initiative as a shift toward evidence-based enforcement, reducing dependence on manual policing while enabling round-the-clock monitoring. The AI-enabled cameras are designed to detect violations such as triple-seat riding and number plate irregularities, automatically generating fines. Beltech AI remained unavailable for comment despite attempts by The Goan to reach them.
Amid the ongoing setbacks, the government is understood to be proceeding with plans to expand AI-based traffic enforcement across other parts of the State.
