Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday flagged off 410 new vehicles to upscale the efficiency of the Punjab Police to maintain law and order.
Out of these 410 new vehicles, 274 are Mahindra Scorpios, 41 Isuzu Highlanders apart from 71 KIA Carens vehicles are being issued for PCR and dial 112, and TATA Tiago EV (electric vehicles) are being issued for the safety of women. With the arrival of these vehicles, the promptness and mobility of the police stations will increase, and the response time of the police will be improved. It has happened for the first time in the history of the Punjab Police that Rs.150 crore rupees have been spent on the purchase of vehicles in a single financial year.
Under the same series, 1195 vehicles that have completed their 15 years of life are being scraped, and new vehicles are being purchased in place of these condemned vehicles. In the first phase, 508 vehicles are being purchased at a cost of Rs 94.15 crore. In the second phase, 851 vehicles will be purchased in FY 2024–25 at a cost of Rs 75.42 crore. Apart from this, 426 crore rupees are being spent to modernize the Punjab Police and strengthen the infrastructure of Police force. Similarly, the Punjab Government has notified two new police stations, Police Station Kartarpur Corridor and Police Station IT City Mohali, out of which a tender has been floated for the construction of Police Station Kartarpur Corridor Building, and soon this construction will be started and completed.
The Punjab government has issued Rs 40 crore to the Punjab Police to strengthen the security of the border areas, of which Rs 10 crore has been given for the renovation of police stations and Rs 10 crore for the purchase of modern vehicles. The provided 81 Mahindra Scorpio vehicles under this will strengthen the security of the border areas. The Punjab Government has sanctioned Rs 80 crore for strengthening the structure of police counter-intelligence and Rs 30 crore for strengthening the cyber crime structure. This will strengthen the internal security arrangements and also curb the increasing number of cybercrime cases over time.