Yogi government is continuously working towards making the jail system of the state modern, safe and humane. To overcome the problem of increasing number of prisoners and overcrowding in jails, the Yogi government has speeded up the construction of new jails, due to which the overcrowding rate in jails has decreased. At present, a total of 77 prisons are operating in the state, which includes 7 Central Prisons, 2 Women Central Prisons, 64 District Prisons, 1 Special Prison, 2 Sub Jails and 1 Juvenile Home.
The result of the expansion of prison infrastructure in the last nine and a half years of the Yogi government is that the prison capacity of the state has increased significantly. In the year 2017, the total prisoner capacity of 70 jails of the state was 58,400, whereas by the year 2026 it has increased to 77,673. Overcrowding rate in jails has also reduced significantly during this period.
Additional capacity of prisoners developed
While the overcrowding rate was 1.77 in the year 2017, it has come down to 1.03 in the year 2026. This reduction is a direct result of the efforts made by the Yogi government for expansion of prisons, construction of new prisons and creation of additional capacity. Yogi government has started operation of seven new jails since 2017. These include Chitrakoot, Ambedkar Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Etawah Central Jail, Prayagraj, Shravasti and Old District Jail Bareilly. These new jails have created a total additional capacity of 10,495 prisoners, which has reduced the pressure on the jails of various districts.
Additional inmate capacity available
Yogi government is also moving towards construction of six new district jails. These include Kanpur Nagar (2030 capacity), Auraiya (1056), Shahjahanpur (1520), Gyanpur-Bhadohi (574), Moradabad (2000) and Lalitpur (552). With the construction of these six new jails, the capacity of 7,732 additional prisoners will be available in the state. The proposal for administrative and financial approval for these projects has been sent to the government.
Projects should be completed by the year 2026
Apart from this, work is also going on at a fast pace on new jail projects under construction in the state. The construction of new district jails being built in Amethi and Mahoba has almost reached the final stage. More than 98 percent work of Amethi jail and more than 93 percent work of Mahoba jail has been completed. Apart from these, construction of new jails is also going on at a rapid pace in Hathras, Kushinagar, Jaunpur and Hapur. The total capacity of these six under-construction jails will be 6,156 prisoners. Yogi government aims to complete most of the projects by 2026.
Land acquisition and registration proceedings
Along with the expansion of prison infrastructure, the government is also preparing to establish new prisons in those districts where the process of land purchase and registration is going on. The process of land acquisition and registration for the proposed jails in Sambhal, Shamli, Ballia, Saharanpur, Amroha and Chandauli is in progress. For many of these projects, funds worth crores of rupees have been sanctioned at the government level. It is known that overcrowding in jails affects safety, health, sanitation and rehabilitation related activities. Keeping this challenge in mind, the Yogi government has given priority to increasing the capacity of jails.
Facilitates implementation of corrective programs
The construction of new jails will not only provide better residential facilities to the prisoners, but will also facilitate the jail administration in security arrangements and operation of correctional programs. It is the effort of the Yogi government to provide facilities to every prisoner to live as per the prescribed standards and to minimize the problems arising due to overcrowding in jails. For this, construction of new jails, upgradation of old jails, construction of additional barracks and availability of modern security resources is being ensured.