Punjab to set up panel to check security expenditure

The Punjab government today said it would set up a committee to streamline the system of providing security to officials and non-officials, taking cognizance of reports claiming the state lacked a rational policy.

The decision was taken after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took cognisance of media reports claiming that absence of prudent norms was causing avoidable financial loss to the state, a government spokesperson said.

The committee will be headed by additional chief secretary (home), with director general (intelligence) and additional director general of police (security). It has been tasked with checking excess expenditure while maintaining desirable security standards.

The government will also set up another committee that will help eliminate discrepancies in the reattachment of villages to police stations.

The decision to set up the committee was taken after various representations from residents claimed their villages had been attached to police stations other than those located nearby, the spokesperson said.

The two-member committee has been mandated to look into such discrepancies and submit its report within a month, he added.