LAHORE: Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar has said that as many as 99 police stations are under construction in various districts of the province, including 39 smart ones, that are nearing completion.

Previously, he said the cost of constructing a police station was between Rs200 million to Rs250 million, but with modern designs and multipurpose buildings, these smart stations were now being built at a cost of around just Rs60m to Rs100m.

“The construction of 10 smart police stations on government land alone will result in annual savings of over Rs20.8m,” the IGP said.

He said the construction of 22 smart police stations in densely populated areas of Lahore is progressing rapidly, leading to significant savings for the national treasury.

Under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s “Safe Punjab Vision”, he said Punjab Police is carrying out various projects that were being swiftly completed, he said.

He further explained that previously 10 police stations in Lahore were located in rented buildings, costing the government millions in rent annually. These stations, included Sanda, Millat Park, Gujjarpura, Kot Lakhpat, Islampura, Shalimar, Samanabad, Shafiqabad, Shad Bagh, and Johar Town.

Now, he said, all smart police stations are being built on one to two kanal government land in densely populated areas at a much lower cost.

Dr Usman Anwar said that all smart police stations will operate under the Special Initiative Police Stations Protocol and SOPs.About the under construction buildings, the IGP said, three police stations were being built in Multan, two each in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, and Sialkot, and one each in Attock, Gujrat, Sahiwal, and Sheikhupura.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2024