Lahore: Inspector General of Police Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar led a pivotal budget meeting at the Central Police Office, acknowledging the Punjab Police’s exceptional performance in utilizing their development budget during the fiscal year 2024/25. The department effectively used 99.5 percent of the allocated 12 billion rupees, surpassing other departments in budget utilization, and initiated various new projects.

The development budget was strategically divided into three parts, with supplementary grants acquired to ensure timely completion of key schemes. The Punjab Police anticipates concluding the majority of these development schemes in the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26.

In the previous fiscal year, the allocated budget of 187 billion rupees was exceeded due to significant projects such as Safe Cities Authority and Smart Police Stations, ultimately surpassing 233 billion rupees. For the next fiscal year, the budget allocation has increased to 199 billion rupees.

The expansion of the Safe Cities project is underway, extending to 10 parts at the Tehsil level and broadening its reach to 7,000 Union Councils. This expansion is part of the Safe Punjab Vision, spearheaded by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, aiming to establish a comprehensive CCTV network.

Additional IGP Welfare and Finance Imran Arshad and several other high-ranking officers participated in the meeting, discussing ongoing and future initiatives aimed at enhancing the security infrastructure across Punjab.