The North News
Chandigarh, March 17
A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and poor medical facilities in Punjab jails.
According to the audit report which was tabled in the state assembly on Monday, the administration took six years to adopt the framework outlined in the model prison manual, 2016 and notify the Punjab Prison Rules, 2022.
Despite recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee, overcrowding in jails persisted, said the report.
There are 26 jails of various categories in the state: 10 central jails, seven district jails, two women jails at Bathinda and Ludhiana, one borstal jail at Ludhiana, one open air jail at Nabha (Patiala), and five sub jails.
According to the report, against the capacity of 23,638 male inmates, the occupancy was 24,101 in 2021-22. Similarly, the occupancy was 28,481 in 2022-23 against the capacity of 23,658 male inmates.
The report pointed out that the problem of overcrowding was a major deterrent in making basic facilities available to the inmates.
Audit of records of the test-checked jails disclosed that among others, prolonged custody of undertrial prisoners due to missed court hearings and delay in construction or renovation of new jails had notably contributed to the increase in overcrowding year after year, thereby worsening the already inadequate availability of facilities for jail inmates in Punjab.
The government in its response said building additional barracks in existing six jails, and construction of a new high-security jail at Ludhiana and a new district jail at Mohali were under process and this would increase the authorised capacity.
Further, the government said that weekly review of the jail population was being assessed by State Level Committee headed by the inspector general (prisons) and on the basis of such reviews, from January 2021 to December 2023, 17,916 inmates had been transferred from overcrowded jails to less crowded ones.
The government further apprised that all adult male prisoners except lifers, as far as practicable, may be allowed to stay in the district or central prisons nearest to their home district in respect of convict inmates.
However, the report said the government’s reply was not in conformity with the actual situation on the ground, as 6,204 male inmates and 203 female inmates were still housed in jails in excess of authorised capacity despite having vacancies in other jails and only 5,017 inmates (806 during 2021-22 and 4,211 during 2022-23), out of total 17,916 inmates, were transferred to ease overcrowding.
It also found that toilet facilities were inadequate in 74 per cent of male and 63 per cent of female barracks leading to unhygienic conditions.
Health care facilities also exhibited 72 per cent shortage of hospital beds and 60 per cent shortage of medical staff, the report said.
This necessitated treatment of 45,497 inmates in Civil Hospitals outside the jail thereby enabling 22 prisoners to escape, it added.
