HYDERABAD: The Telangana prisons department has yet another interesting distinction of having its prison cells considerably less crowded in comparison to the national average. While States like Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have their jails overcrowded, the 49 prisons of varying capacity in the State are not crowded.
As per the national crime records bureau ‘s (NCRB) report on prisons statistics India 2016, the occupancy ratio to the available space in the State is 88 per cent, leaving a considerable space free. The immediate advantage of this is the maintenance of better human-rights conditions. Nationwide, the average prison occupancy ratio is 113.7 per cent. Interestingly, the NCRB report highlighted that the State has a well-organised prisons department as there are inmates lodged in the sub-jails as well. There are 32 sub-jails in the State that has a capacity of thirty or fewer prisoners.
But the Director General of Prisons Department VK Singh held that sub-jails should be closed and, instead, only district jails be maintained.
“Currently, there are four to five persons in each of the sub-jails. It gets difficult for us to impart education and other personality development skills when the number of inmates are so less,” he observed.
Proposals to close five sub-jails and rent out prison cells to other States have been pending with the State government, he further added.