Rs. 300 crore Master Plan for strengthening prisons in Punjab

Chandigarh, July 10, 2013: The Punjab government has formulated a comprehensive master plan of 300 crore for the overall development of prisons in the state, besides construction of new sub-jails both at divisional and district levels. To overcome the problem of overcrowding in the Punjab Prisons would come up three new jails with enhanced capacity at Amritsar, Bathinda and Muktsar.

Stating this here today, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Jail Minister Punjab said that presently there are 25219 prisoners as against the present capacity of 18406. The Minister also said that the master plan would be implemented in next four years in a phased manner.

The new jails coming up would be equipped with CCTV cameras, Mobile Jammers and other security equipment to ensure proper security in these upcoming Jails besides. The Minister also said that the government was fully aware of the problems being faced by the prison staff in handling the nexus between the drug peddlers and the prisoners in the jails and to break this nexus the state government has decided to empower the superintendents of jails to search the prisoners and conduct criminal proceeding under NDPC Act.  The matter was being taken up with the CM before final implementation, said the minister. The Minister has asked the officers to conduct extensive search operations in Punjab prisons with a view to nabbing the objectionable material posing security threat from the jail inmates. The officers confiscating maximum of such things from the prisoners would be honored by the state government, said the Minister.

To ensure timely medical aid to the prisoners, the Minister said that a committee comprising of Superintendent Jail, Medical Officer of the Jail and Civil Surgeon have been constituted to identify the Psychiatrist, Pediatrician, Gynecologist and other specialists’ on call doctors of the area to be on the panel of the jail department.

With a view to engaging the prisoners in some lucrative venture, the Minister said that the state government was in touch with the Indian Oil Corporation working out the modalities to open the petrol/filling stations at Nabha, Sangrur and Gurdaspur where prisoners with good conduct would be given jobs. Besides this the department has also chalked out a plan to set up its own bakery unit on the pattern of Tihar Jail, said the Minister.