20 New Hi-Tech Prisons Will Be Built in Uttar Pradesh | 21 Mar 2023

Why In News

According to information received from the media on March 20, 2023, in a high-level meeting, the Uttar Pradesh Prison Administration and Reforms Department informed that in view of the overcrowded number of prisoners in the state's jails, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to construct new jails in many districts.

Key Points

• For the construction of new jails in the state, 11 such districts of the state have been identified, where there is no jail at present.
• According to the information, new jails will be built in Amethi, Mahoba, Kushinagar, Chandauli, Auraiya, Hathras, Hapur, Sambhal, Amroha, Bhadohi and Shamli.
• Besides, the state government has initiated the process of constructing a central jail and another jail in 9 districts, while the number of barracks is being increased in some jails, official sources said. For this, on the instructions of the government, the government has released a huge budget giving a green signal to the prison department.
• These jails will be built using hi-tech technology in view of the current scenario. Along with this, the target of construction of new jails has been fixed for two to five years.
• It is known that at present, many jails, including the central and district jails of the state, have more prisoners than capacity. In such a situation, there is a need for new jails to provide facilities provided by the prison manual and to protect the human rights of the prisoners.
• At present, the seven central jails have a capacity of 13,669 prisoners, while there are 15,201 prisoners under detention, a ratio of 111 percent, senior officials of the department had said.
• Similarly, 62 district jails have a capacity of 49,107 detainees, against which 95,597 detainees are detained, with a ratio of 194 percent. The two sub-jails have a capacity of 306 detainees, against which 664 detainees are detained, with a ratio of 21.6 percent. The Women's Central Jail has a capacity of 120 detainees against which 148 detainees are detained, with a ratio of 12.3 percent.