LAHORE, Oct 19: Punjab Governor Lt-Gen Muhammad Safdar (retired) sanctioned Rs100 million on Friday for the recruitment of 700 investigation officers during the current financial year to allow separation of investigation from the watch and ward duties of the Police Department.

The funds were sanctioned at a special meeting held at the Governor’s House.

The governor said the decision would allow speedy disposal of a huge backlog of pending investigation. The new investigation officers will each investigate only 50 cases a year. They will be provided an official motorcycle each.

The meeting decided to declare Lahore district police the Capital City Police headed by a DIG instead of an SSP. Kasur and Okara were made part of Faisalabad range and Sheikhupura appended to Gujranwala range.

The meeting decided to declare Gulberg police station a model police station headed by an ASP.

It was also decided to reduce the number of police training institutions from the existing 12 to six, to provide additional resources to them, and to acquire services of trained instructors to impart latest training to an annual 3,650 police officials.

The meeting was informed that 32 new police stations would be constructed in rural and urban centres in the province.

The governor said the provincial government had decided to take practical steps for a marked improvement in the functioning of police as part of seven-point agenda of President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

He said on account of shortage of staff an investigation officers had to deal with around 400 cases a year. The governor said delay in the investigation of cases was a major inconvenience and a cause of delay in justice.

The meeting expressed its satisfaction with the recruitment this year of 192 sub-inspectors through the Punjab Public Service Commission and 3,104 constables through the recruitment boards under the DIGs.

Earlier, IGP Malik Asif Hayat briefed the meeting on the reorganization of police in the Punjab under a three-year programme costing over Rs1 billion.