CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday ordered the MD of Odisha Police Housing Welfare Corporation (OPHWC) to appear before it personally in connection with ongoing projects for increasing the capacity of jails in the state.
A division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman allowed the MD of OPHWC to be present in court in virtual mode on January 2 to explain the completion of the projects and the revised targets set for it.
The bench was taking stock of steps the prison authorities had taken to address the problem of overcrowding as part of adjudication of a PIL on problems in jails across the state. Director General, Prisons, Manoj Chhabra had filed an affidavit outlining the steps taken to increase the capacity of jails and the ongoing projects to achieve the target. The OPHWC had undertaken as many as 21 projects and fixed varying timelines, of which some had been revised.
Amicus Curiae Gautam Misra, on his part, had filed a convenience note which pointed out that much of addressing the problem of overcrowding in jails now depends on expediting projects undertaken by OPHWC. From Chhabra’s affidavit it was evident that both in the sub-jail at Jajpur and special sub-jail at Bhadrak, the percentage of excess population was 71 and 50 respectively.
Besides, there were as many as 17 jails where the excess population was is in the range of 20 per cent to 40 per cent. The court felt the availability of psychiatrists and psychologists to cater to the mental health needs of the inmates of the jails was another area of concern. Chhabra had stated in the affidavit that the process of empanelment of consultant psychiatrists and psychologists is underway and by the next date of hearing it is expected there will be a larger number of mental health professionals available to the Prison department. The bench fixed January 2 as the next date for hearing on the matter.