COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNPHC) is likely to float a tender for the construction of the new central prison complex in Onnipalayam village at Bilichi near Karamadai in January 2025 as the government has given administrative sanction for the project recently. As per the DPR submitted by TNPHC. It will take at least three years to complete the construction of the first phase of the prison.
“The new prison is designed to have separate blocks for remand and convicted prisoners, for efficient management within the same facility,” DIG (Prisons) G Shanmugasundaram (Coimbatore Range) told TNIE. He added that the new prison will be the first in the state to feature a single block capable of accommodating around 1,000 remand prisoners at a time. The existing prison consists of multiple blocks, each with a capacity of 100 to 150 prisoners.
The existing central prison was established in 1872 and is one of the oldest prisons in the state, spanning 165 acres. It accommodates over 1,500 prisoners across various blocks, including those remand, conviction, high-security inmates and others. The existing prison currently manages 2,300 inmates, including 200 women, while the new one is planned to accommodate 3,000 inmates, including 500 women. In 2010, the then-chief minister proposed to relocate the prison and construct a Semmozhi Poonga in its place.
As per DPR, the new prison complex will come up on 95 acres at Rs 327.33 crore. The construction will be done in three phases - the first phase will cost Rs 211.57 crore, the second Rs 46.55 crore and the third phase will be constructed at Rs 69.21 crore. There would be four blocks - remand, convict, high-security and condemned. Besides, the campus would also house a court, hospital, workshop, kitchen, administration block, staff quarters and other facilities. Along with it, there is a plan to construct an STP and a solid waste management system.
The men’s prison will be completed in the first phase, followed by the women’s prison. The third phase will involve building staff quarters and other basic infrastructure, TNPHC sources said.