Law and order budget increased by 15pc

To counter lawlessness in the province, the Sindh government increased the law and order budget by 15 per cent for the fiscal year 2023-24 and allocated Rs143 billion.

The allocation for law and order in the last budget was Rs124 billion.

In his budget speech, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the law and order development budget would be used for development in security and military gadgets of the Sindh police.

He also announced the establishment of a new unit, Crowd Management Unit, in the provincial police.

Shah said the enhanced budget allocations for the home department for the coming fiscal year reflected the Sindh government’s commitment to ensuring peace and security in the province.

“We aim to provide our law enforcement and security agencies with the necessary tools and support to protect our province and maintain law and order,” he said.

In the Rs143 billion law and order budget, Rs15.5 million have been allocated for each Prisons Policy and Management Boards for strategic improvements. A total of Rs463.414 million has been earmarked for strengthening the prison department's technical capabilities.

In order to better equip the Sindh police, an amount of Rs2.796 billion has been allocated for the procurement of sophisticated field (military grade) weapons and surveillance equipment.

A substantial amount of Rs3.569 billion has been allocated for the procurement of police vehicles to effectively serve and protect citizens.

Among the specialised police departments, Rs846.608 million has been earmarked for the Special Branch, and Rs868.684 million for the Counter-Terrorism Department.

A total of Rs272.78 million has been kept for medical reimbursements for the police personnel. To address the problems of police trainees, Rs360 million has been proposed for diet charges replacing the previous self-paid system.

New unit

The government has decided to form a unit in the Sindh police for crowd management in view of volatile political and polarised social conditions resulting in mob agitations. The new unit would prevent disruptions for the commuters and general public during protests.

The CM said the Crowd Management Unit would comprise 3,446 persons to deal effectively with riots. An amount of Rs81.4­8 million has been allocated for the new unit as well as the Rapid Response Unit in the budget.

Security surveillance

An amount of Rs1.57 billion has been allocated for automatic number plate recognition cameras at key transit points across Sindh for improved security and safer commutes.

Forensic lab

The provincial government plans to establish the Sindh Forensic Science Laboratory for provision of precise and timely forensic results for effective investigations.

Funds amounting to Rs134.50 million have been allocated for its successful functionality and operations.

Law dept budget

A provision of Rs22.02 billion has been kept in the budget for the law and parliamentary affairs department. In the last budget, Rs20.38 billion was earmarked for these departments.

A total of Rs94.091 million has been allocated in the 2023-24 budget for the newly established high court registry in Mirpurkhas to enable the population of the central Sindh to have easy approach to the high court.

Besides this, funds amounting to Rs71.716 million have been kept for the newly established sessions court, civil court, family court and Office of District Attorney in Sujawal district with the budgetary allocation of Rs59.927 million in annual budget 2023-24.

Legal assistance

To contribute towards the social and economic transformation of Sindh and ensure human rights, an amount of Rs100 million has been allocated as grant for legal aid assistance to downtrodden and needy victims of human rights violations.

In order to provide speedy and inexpensive administrative justice to the people at their doorstep, three new regional offices of the Provincial Ombudsman have been established in Keamari, Korangi and Sanghar districts with a budgetary provision of Rs87 million.