The Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) no longer supervises half of the City because, after “tug-of-war” between the police and the government, financial problems emerge primarily in order to take care of the 17 billion mega-projectof Punjab.
Nearly half of CCTV cameras are offline in official sources at a time when Lahore is planning to host some games in the Pakistan Super League and likely cricket matches in Bangladesh.
A senior official said almost half of the city’s leading roads, sensitive installations and government buildings were now out of the range/coverage of the PSCA cameras.
“It is a matter of serious concern that the PSCA cameras are not functioning even at prime locations like Faisal Chowk, Regal Chowk, Ali Hajvery shrine and surroundings of the Lahore High Court where terror attacks had been carried out in the past, “ the official said.
The protection of a number of religious sites in different parts of the city in religious minorities and mosques is also threatened by cameras not working.
Under the Punjab Safe Cities Regulations 2015, the last Government of Punjab’s MPN in Punjab had developed the multi-billion mega project, a concept to improve safety and quality of life in complex towns by using technology, services, staff and processes.
Officials say 4,000 cameras offline due to delay in funds release; finance dept disputes PSCA claim
In the past, the official said, the PSCA had played an integrated role in tracing some terrorism cases and locations of the attackers.
“Presently, the PSCA is starved of funds despite approval by the chief minister to allocate Rs1.49 billion through supplementary grant”, the official said.
He said the operational matters of the authority, particularly of the CCTV cameras, have almost come to a standstill after the finance department stopped releasing funds to it even during the 7th month of the current fiscal.
