MAHARASHTRA HOME Minister’s latest announcement of a proposal of recent prisons, which is into consideration, has come as a reduction to jail administration. The proposal has to do with overcrowding, particularly in central prisons which might be over 75 per cent extra crowded than their capability.
On his go to to Yerawada central jail final week, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh introduced {that a} proposal to assemble a number of new jails with fashionable facilities was tabled earlier than Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The present capability of 47 prisons, together with 9 of high-security central prisons, is 23,200, however the approximate variety of inmates, at current, is near 31,000 that’s 33 per cent overcrowding. While round half the capability of all prisons within the state is from 9 central prisons, which have a complete capability of 12,800, however have a present inhabitants of near 22,600 — overcrowding of 76 per cent. Some central prisons worst-hit by overcrowding are Yerawada (capability of two,449, inhabitants 5,213, overcrowding 112 per cent), Thane (1,105, 2,523, 128 per cent), Taloja (2,124, 4,390, 106 per cent). These crammed circumstances persist regardless of coordinated jail decongestion efforts, as a part of which over 10,800 inmates, undertrials in addition to convicts, lodged in jail for lesser and non-heinous offences attracting lower than seven years of most sentence, have been launched both on provisional bail or parole since April.
Deshmukh had mentioned on Friday that three days previous to {that a} proposal to extend the capability of prisons within the state was tabled earlier than the CM and Deputy CM. “We have proposed to construct new prisons with modern amenities at multiple locations in the state. Some of them will be multi-storied. Our jails have available spaces with them, which will also be used for this,” he had mentioned.
Senior jail division officers have advised The Indian Express that these new jail premises will embody one central jail at Chikhali in Pimpri-Chinchwad with capability of three,000 and two different central prisons at Mauje Mandale in Mumbai with capability of 4,200 and one other central jail at Thane that may accommodate 2,900 inmates. Others embody district prisons at Nagpur, Nashik, Palghar and Hingoli. The enlargement plan additionally contains rising the current capability of Yerawada open jail by over 600.
The new central prisons in PCMC, Thane and Mumbai would ease the burden from Yerawada, Thane and Arthur Road central prisons, that are a few of the most overcrowded prisons.
Prison division officers mentioned the multi-story jail, which is into consideration at a few of these locations, shall be on the strains of a correctional facility in Miami within the US. Officials additionally mentioned overcrowding was an even bigger problem, particularly in high-security central prisons, housing criminals from organised gangs and people jailed for severe and heinous crimes. Inmates need to be segregated and stored bodily other than one another, particularly these from rival gangs or with attainable hostility, they added.
Officials mentioned a few of the inmates, who’ve violent historical past or these concerned in instances of terrorism, need to be housed individually, and that further jails may even assist jail administration higher segregate the prevailing inhabitants from a safety perspective.
