E-Paper
State Prisons Dept to construct five facilities to boost capacity
The prison authorities underlined that the main reason for the construction of additional jails is the growing strain on the prison system with a high number of unconvicted inmates
PUNE
Given that a large number of prisons are overflowing due to the prisoner count exceeding capacity, the State Prisons Department has sent a proposal to the home department for the construction of five new prisons at Ahmednagar, Thane, Yerwada, Palghar, and Gondia.
The prison authorities underlined that the main reason for the construction of additional jails is the growing strain on the prison system with a high number of unconvicted inmates across the facilities in the state.
To address the pertinent issue, a new jail with a capacity of 500 prisoners on 11 acres in Narayandoh has been proposed, with a budget of ₹95 lakh. A new jail with a capacity of 1,500 prisoners is proposed on 25 acres in Palghar, with a budget of ₹one crore. Thane and Yerwada have proposed jails with a capacity of 3,000 inmates each. In addition, a new jail with a capacity of 349 inmates is planned for Gondia.
The state currently has 60 jails with a total inmate housing capacity of 24,722 prisoners. However, there are currently 41,191 prisoners in various state prisons, nearly doubling the capacity.
Approximately 70% of the prisoners housed across the state are first-time offenders. According to prison officials, informed construction work will begin immediately after the proposal is approved by the home ministry.
The state’s largest prison, Yerwada jail in Pune, has a capacity of 2,449 male and female prisoners but currently houses 6,821 prisoners.
“The number of raw prisoners has increased due to the large number of pending cases in court. The prison administration has no choice but to expand jail capacity and increase the number of jails to address this issue,” a top jail department official said.
According to a Prisons Department statistical report, the detention capacity of Maharashtra’s prisons was 23,592 in 2015, rising to 24,722 in 2022.
Only 1,300 prisoners have been added to the prison inmate housing capacity over the last seven years.
As a result, the prison administration is facing a shortage of space for newly admitted prisoners, putting additional strain on the prison infrastructure, which is already under severe strain.
The prisons remain overcrowded because, even after bail, many of the prisoners are languishing in jail because they lack a surety or money for bail, and because many bail bonds are delayed, these offenders are also languishing in jail for many years.
