Over Rs6.9b allocated for police expenditures

Over Rs1b set aside for model police station, prison in capital

ISLAMABAD: The government has set aside Rs6.9 billion to meet the recurring expenses of the Islamabad Police in the upcoming fiscal year 2017-18.

The money would largely be used to pay salaries and other bills of the police department.

This is in addition to the around Rs2 billion which have been set aside for development projects related to law enforcement in the capital.

New stations, prisons

The government has allocated Rs300 million for setting up a model police station and for police reforms in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) under the Public Sector Development Programme 2017-18.

The project had been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) last year and is estimated to cost a total of Rs996.2 million to complete. So far, the government has spent Rs280 million on the project in the outgoing fiscal year.

Separately, the government has set aside Rs800 million to establish a model prison in Sector H-16. The project is estimated to cost Rs3.928 billion and had been approved by the CDWP in 2015. It received a nod from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on July 20, 2016.

The government had approved Rs10 million for the project in 2015-16 budget, while an additional Rs200 million had been allocated in the ongoing fiscal year.

A prison specifically for prisoners from the capital has become a necessity. Currently, prisoners from the ICT are housed at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, and sometimes at other prisons in Punjab.

According to the budget document, a sum of Rs406.795 million has been set aside for the ongoing project of setting up a National Forensic Science Agency and Laboratory in the capital.

The project had been approved in March 2015 and was estimated to cost around Rs1.461 billion. So far, the government has spent around Rs1.054 billion on the project since the fiscal year 2014-15.

Without a fully functional forensic science facility, the capital’s police have to rely on the Punjab government’s forensic science agency located in Lahore for DNA and other forensic tests. This means that critical investigation processes take weeks and delays prosecution.

Rs40 million for SPs’ houses

The government has also approved Rs39.9 million to build 15 houses at the Police Lines Headquarters in Sector H-11 meant for the superintendents of police (SPs). The project was estimated to cost Rs119.1 million and the government has already spent Rs79.2 million on it. With the allocations in FY 2017-18, it is expected that the project will be completed this year.

Another Rs427.2 million have been set aside for the construction of accommodation, training, and administrative blocks and barracks for the newly raised Rapid Response Force wing of the Islamabad Police.

The project had been approved by CDWP in August 2015 and is estimated to cost around Rs1.627 billion. So far, the government has spent Rs1.2 billion on the project over the past two years. With the latest allocations, however, it is expected that the project would be completed in the upcoming fiscal year.

Moreover, the government plans to build an FM radio station for the Islamabad Traffic Police and has allocated Rs9.9 million for the project in the upcoming fiscal year. The project is expected to cost a total of Rs19.9 million and the government had already allocated Rs10 million for the project last year.

Moreover, the government plans to build an auditorium at the National Police Academy (NPA) in Sector H-11. The project is estimated to cost a total of Rs79.4 million. The government has already spent Rs39.8 million on the project in the outgoing fiscal year while it has approved Rs39.5 million for the project in the new fiscal year.

Another Rs24.2 million have been approved for the provision of additional facilities and tube wells at the NPA. The government had allocated Rs27.1 million for the project in the outgoing year.

Similarly, another Rs25 million have been set aside for upgrading security at the police academy under a project which is estimated to cost around Rs55.5 million.

Land record management

The government has approved Rs52.8 million for a land revenue records management system for the rural areas of Islamabad.

The project had been approved in 2007 and was estimated to cost Rs88.6 million. However, over the past decade, the government only spent Rs35.8 million on the project. However, with the allocations, it is expected that the project will be completed this year.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2017.