A CLOSED-CIRCUIT television (CCTV) camera keeping surveillance on the employees and workforce of the state government is pervasive surveillance. During the last decade there has been an unprecedented growth in CCTV use in schools, business establishments, government offices, public places and busy streets.

The CCTV is supposed to be the best mechanism to collect recorded evidence of crimes. The state government had installed CCTV at Goa Printing and Stationary Department, which it claims to be successful in enforcing discipline and creating a work culture. Yet Goa would be the first state to use CCTV for all departments.  
No doubt this is an innovative concept, but the decision presumes a total absence of work culture. Had it not been the case there was no need for the government to decide on a comprehensive use of it to keep a control on indiscipline and bring in efficiency. The government also holds the view that it would not only keep an eye on the behaviour at the workplace of the government employees but also curb various illegalities that take place in various government departments. It needs to be said that CCTV cannot become a substitute for good governance. The government agencies designated for oversight of the functioning of government departments in general and officials in particular must play a major role in enforcement of probity rather than CCTV.
Mass surveillance has been widely criticised on several grounds, as violations of privacy rights, illegality, and for preventing political and social freedoms. The Parliament passed the Information Technology Act of 2008 with no debate, giving the government power to tap all communications without a court order or a warrant. What is the guarantee that the information collected through CCTV would not be used against the employee? It is interesting to note that the employees association has welcomed this move of the government and feel that the employees who neglect their work and steal the government-paid time for their private works would face the music. It is highly necessary that the government is discrete in using the information and must see that it is not misused. No doubt this mechanism has turned the Goa Printing and Stationary Department more productive, but this is only a small example.  
The move of the Goa government is welcome. But the government should realise that coercive mechanism does not always prove to be productive. The government should inculcate work culture. The employee should feel himself answerable for any lapse or error. But at the same time it should pat and felicitate the employee who is doing a good job. It is most unfortunate that the political executives of the state are engrossed with their own gains and have little time left to take care of the needs and problems of the employees. One of the major areas which need immediate attention of the government is giving a senior officer the charge of one department or agency. Often an officer is assigned several departments/agencies to look after, which leaves him hardly in a position to monitor the functioning of any single department and determine its productivity quotient. In the absence of dedicated chiefs, the employees can hope to have a lax and loose enforcement of discipline. Even if there is CCTV, the officer with more than one department under his/her charge would not have time to watch the footage. The CCTV can bring back work culture to all sections of bureaucracy but with focused attention of the overseers.