India: UP CM Adityanath orders more jails and more barracks

Jail Prison India

Lucknow, Apr 21 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday ordered the construction of new jails and more barracks in the existing ones to deal with overcrowding.

He said there should be a facility of sanitary napkins, dispensers, and incinerators at the women's help desk in prisons.

He said the Women helpline 1090 should be given the status of Public Safety Awareness Point'.

The CM made the suggestions while issuing guidelines on Presentation of Action Plan of Home, Prison, Home Guard, Secretariat Administration and Appointment and Personnel departments before the Council of Ministers here.

To solve the problem of overcrowding of prisoners in jails, new barracks should be constructed in old jails. Land should be purchased for the construction of district jails in Amroha, Sambhal, Shamli, and Muzaffarnagar, he said.

He directed the officials to construct district jails also in Amethi, Hathras, Auraiya, Hapur, Chandauli, Bhadohi, Kushinagar, and Mahoba, an official release said.

The CM expressed the need to amend the existing policy on premature release of prisoners, and instructed officials to follow up on the suggestion within the next 100 days.

There are in all 73 prisons in UP.

According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau report, the prisoner occupancy rate here is much higher at 177, as against 118, the national average.

Occupancy rate means the ratio of inmates staying in a jail against the authorised capacity. The authorised capacity is stipulated to be 100 inmates per jail -- any number above it implies the jail is overcrowded...