Mumbai: The state government in an affidavit on resolving problems of overcrowding, lack of proper toilet, washroom and interview facilities for jail inmates has informed the Bombay high court that it is in the process of increasing capacity and has already upgraded facilities in prisons across the state.
The affidavit was filed in compliance of an HC order in 2017 wherein the state was directed to fulfil 15 directions, including increasing capacity, providing facilities for male and female prisoners and so on. The affidavit filed by the chief secretary stated that 13 of the directions have either been complied or are in progress.
The affidavit filed by Manu Kumar Srivastav, chief secretary, government of Maharashtra in the public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Jan Adalat in 2017 has stated that with regards to increasing the capacity of jails in Mumbai and Pune, the state government is making all efforts to comply. The affidavit stated that the Mumbai collector and suburban collector have already been asked to identify lands for construction of new jails.
Srivastav stated that though a plot of four acres was identified at Turbhe for a new jail with a capacity to accommodate 5,000 inmates, the same is pending as the space is insufficient and another seven acres of land with the Revenue department which is adjacent to the plot has been sought by the concerned department.
With regards to the jail at Yerwada Central Prison in Pune, the affidavit stated that a proposal for constructing a new jail with a capacity of 3,000 inmates is already under consideration and the same will come up on the land already available with the prison. Apart from this, out of the eight new barracks proposed in 2018 for male prisoners, six have been constructed and are in use to accommodate 150 inmates, while work on two others is underway. Two new barracks for women prisoners in Yerwada are completed and house 100 inmates.
With regards to construction and renovation of toilets, washrooms, bathing platforms and interview rooms, the affidavit stated that in both central and district prisons, 71 new bathrooms—the number of new bathrooms that had been proposed in a January 2018 affidavit of the state have been constructed along with 68 additional bathing platforms. Out of the 393 additional toilets proposed in the previous affidavit, 137 toilets in central prisons have already been constructed and out of the 256 toilets in district prisons, 145 have been constructed, while 111 could not be constructed due to space constraints.
New toilets and washrooms within the barracks and outside have been constructed in the Byculla women prison as well as the Yerwada women’s prison in compliance with the assurances in the previous affidavit.
The affidavit further assures the court that the undertaking for modern interview facilities and dieticians for all jails has been complied with by the authorities and all necessary facilities for children living with women prisoners have been put in place.
The affidavit concluded that the committee set up to oversee jail reforms has already submitted its recommendations in December 2021 with regards to living conditions in jails, facilities for inmates and so on and the recommendations have already been submitted to the home department and the same is awaiting approval.