Overcrowded Tihar Jail to get space breather soon

The Tihar Jail, which houses inmates almost double its capacity, will soon be decongested as work on a new prison complex that can accommodate over 3,700 people is almost complete.

The Tihar Jail, which houses inmates almost double its capacity, will soon be decongested as work on a new prison complex that can accommodate over 3,700 people is almost complete.

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The upcoming prison complex in northeast Delhi's Mandoli area will help authorities make Tihar more spacious, said a source. "Around 86% work at Mandoli jail complex is complete. It is likely to be ready in June," he added.

The Mandoli jail complex will have six sub-jails -- one each for housing convicts, first-time offenders, long-term undertrials, adolescents and high-security inmates, the source said. "A total of 3, 776 inmates can be housed in the new prison," he said. Tihar has 10 sub-jails, including one in Rohini, which can accommodate 6,250 inmates. But till December 31, 2011, the sub-jails housed 12, 124 inmates, including 526 women.

Mandoli complex will have "air-circulation in all the wards, dual water supply system, reverse osmosis system, sewage treatment and rainwater harvesting systems for inmates", said the source. "Considering the safety of inmates, there will be no electric fixtures inside the wards," he said.

To decongest the existing prisons, there are proposals to build jails at Narela and Baprola too, the source said.

Tihar, meanwhile, is set to start a semi-open prison, which will house convicts based on good conduct. It will prepare and re-integrate convicts for life in the outside world. "The facility will allow inmates to step outside the barrack and earn daily wages," said the source.

To be eligible for admission to the semi-open prison, a convict must have served more than five years but less than 10 years in jail, and whose remaining sentence is less than two years.