Govt working to transform health, police departments: Buzdar

LAHORE:
STAFF REPORT
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the government is introducing different apps to improve the performance of the police department.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the National Conference on Citizen-Centric Policing on Wednesday, the chief minister said, “We are trying our level best to provide justice to people at grassroots level.”
He also launched the tourist facilitation app and another application for registration of home-based workers and tenants on the occasion. Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat, SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, IG Police, ACS (Home) and secretary information were also present on the occasion.
The CM appreciated institutional reforms for making the police public-friendly as the general public have to make daily contacts with police, local government departments or medical institutions. The government is working to transform health and police departments to provide better services and every citizen will enjoy free treatment under the universal health coverage programme, he added.
The government has set a target to give universal health coverage to every citizen by the end of this year in Punjab. Meanwhile, the CM disclosed that local bodies’ elections will be held directly in Punjab and Ordinance has also been issued to curb corruption at the grassroots.
The CM said that counters have also been established in hospitals for medical-legal certificates along with the establishment of police khidmat centres to facilitate the citizens. Meanwhile, CTD has been equipped with necessary gadgets, he added. Recruitment process of 10 thousand police officials will be completed soon while police were also given 600 vehicles, besides transfer of land to 101 police stations, the CM said. He added that 45 new police station buildings are also under construction.
He emphasised that the system of postings and transfers has been made transparent and no political interference has been allowed in the police. The government has given total independence to the police department to perform as public-service is the gist of police reforms, he stressed.
Justice should be provided at the grassroots as the people expect justice from the police department, the CM maintained and held the view that everything is not good in the police department but improvements were ensured speedily. It is expected that departmental reforms will lead to introducing genuine change in the police system. The government will extend full support but the police will have to come up to the expectations of the public, he added.
Meanwhile, the CM maintained that the latest information and communication technologies play an important role in transforming the police department as a public-friendly entity as less human interaction will result in ensuring extended transparency.
The CM also paid tribute to the police’s sacrifices against terrorism, adding that power and authority have been devolved at the grassroots as Punjab is a large province. Similarly, Additional IG has been posted in south Punjab besides enhancing pay and allowances, he added and hoped that the police will work with renewed zeal to provide justice to the common man.