The Centre has finally decided to go ahead with the controversial security gadget, the full body scanner. The first such scanner will be installed at the Delhi airport within six months, officials said.
A full body scanner costs Rs1 crore. The cost to install such scanners across the country will be Rs200 crore, a Delhi International Airport Limited official said.
Though the government has a genuine reason to make the scanners mandatory, it will have to amend laws to implement the
project.
“According to the Information and Technology Act 2000, taking
digital naked pictures of a person without his or her consent is a serious offence,” leading IT and cyber law expert Pawan Duggal said.
He also expressed concern that the staff manning these scanners would have to be carefully chosen, as the images could find their way to the internet, if not regulated.
Many feel it invades privacy. “I would feel very uncomfortable if I was made to go through a scanner, which would show my naked digital picture,” Delhi fashion designer Gunjan Srivastav said.
Anjali Pandey, an engineer, said she would never want to go through such a scanner.
“The idea of a stranger seeing my image is disgusting. How will women who wear a burqa face this? Why can’t we just boost security without using such machines?” she said.
According to Delhi-based businessman Sunil Paul, installing a body scanner could be troublesome for fliers. “I have a 65-year-old mother as well as an eight-year-old girl child. Even if I don’t mind being subjected to such security checks, how will I let my mother and child pass through it? The government must think a lot before making such scanners mandatory,” he said.
