LAHORE: Punjab police have demanded from the government a chopper, 20 armoured personnel carrier (APCs) and six water cannons, seeking Rs94 billion budget for the 216-17 fiscal.

It has also demanded separate budget allocations for the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to establish police stations in every district of Punjab.

A senior police official privy to the information told Dawn that a large part of Punjab police`s allocated budget was spent on salaries and utility services, leaving some critical areas like police stations infrastructure without funds.

Elaborating, he said out of police`s total budget of Rs86,699 million for the ongoing fiscal year (2015-16), 80.13per cent was used for pay and allowances, 7.57pc for POL (fuel) charges, 2.08pc for training institutes, while remaining 10.22pc was used for other operational purpose, including maintenance and repair.

He lamented that out of total 711 police stations` buildings all over the province, 481 were either incomplete, set up on rented premises or in `dilapidated and dangerous`condition.

`Without providing well-furnished police stations to the force, the dream of changing thana culture can`t be fulfilled`, the official said.

He said modern-day police were being equipped with laptops, mobile phones and cameras to improve their performance, but situation in Punjab was different.

`Only 230 police stations out of total 711 in thelargest province are completely functional`, he lamented. The remaining 481 incomplete or dilapidated police stations were being used as ofhces, accommodations, parking lots, locker rooms, interrogation rooms etc, he added.

Punjab reports highest crime rate as compare to other provinces mainly due to its huge population.

Quoting official data, he said Punjab police recorded 95,388 crimes from January to March 2016. Of these, he said, 20,963 were against property, including dacoities, robberies and thef ts.

He said the police budget was being sought in the best interest of the personnel and the public.

`A very meager amount of Rs80 millions was allocated for the building repair (during last fiscal)`, the official said. However, this time the police department has submitted a request for special allocations in the upcoming budget for reconstruction, renovation and upgrade of 481 police stations.

He said funds were also needed for replicating the `front desk project` in 230 police stations of 12 districts in Punjab. It was launched by capital police last year, posting admin officials at police stations to deal with the citizens in a `polite way` `As many as 578 civilians have been recruited as admin officials to man the front desks proposed for 12 districts`, he said, adding they had completed training and a launching ceremony of the project was scheduled for May 25.