DEHRADUN: The condition of jails in Uttarakhand has deteriorated over the years. Currently, there are 192 per cent of prisoners in the state’s jails. This was revealed at a meeting of the Jail Development Board held recently at the state secretariat in Dehradun.
There are 7,181 prisoners lodged in the state’s jails against the capacity of 3,741. Jail officials said the construction of new jails in Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar would have to be expedited to stop overcrowding, to some extent.
Deputy Inspector General of Uttarakhand (Jails) Dadhiram Maurya said four districts of the state — Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Champawat and Bageshwar — do not have prisons, which is why the pressure of prisoners from these districts comes to other jails in the state. “Besides, prisoners from other states are sent to the existing jails, adding to the overcrowding of Uttarakhand jails,” said Maurya.
There are 11 active jails in the state, including seven district jails and two sub-jails. “There is an open jail in Sitarganj. Most of these prisons date back to the British era,” said the officer. “There are 297 CCTVs installed in the three major district jails of the state -- Dehradun, Haridwar and Roorkee. More CCTV installation is going on in the remaining jails, including Tehri, Pauri, Haldwani, Sitarganj and other low-capacity jails,” said the DIG, adding currently, 648 CCTVs are installed in all other jails of the state.
“A high number of prisoners are lodged in Dehradun, Haridwar and Roorkee as well as in Haldwani. A comprehensive plan is being prepared towards taking immediate action at the government level to solve it,” said Maurya. Uttarakhand has seven district jails, two sub-jails and a central jail besides the under-construction jails at Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar.
Acknowledging the problem of overcrowding in the jail, DIG (Jails) Maurya said due to the recently allocated budget of Rs 10 crore from the state government, the work is now on in the under-construction jails of the state.” “Yoga, meditation and other creative activities are encouraged so that the prisoners are reformed while serving the sentence,” Maurya said.
The government’s decision to expedite the work on several jails comes after the Nainital High Court directed the state government to set up a Prison Development Board. A division bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal passed the order while hearing a PIL on the lack of CCTV cameras, accommodation and other facilities in the state jails.
“The government has told the court that many new jails are being built across the state. A doctor and psychologist will also be hired in jails on a contract basis to supervise the physical and mental conditions of prisoners,” said Maurya.
