Hyderabad: Although the state’s prison department has launched many welfare schemes for the inmates, but the overcrowding in the prisons in Telangana is still a cause for concern.
The shortage of staff hinders the separation of sentenced women prisoners and is being tried.
According to a report by the Accountant and Auditor-General (CAG), there are 69% more prisoners than the capacity of the prisons. The prisons suffer from a staff shortage of 33%.
The CAG report referred to issues such as safety decay in Telangana prisons, basic needs of the prisoners, their health and medical care, reforms and rehabilitation, special probationary period and the education system.
According to the CAG report, the state government set up a committee to draft a prison manual in July 2016.
Although the draft manual was submitted to the government in September 2016, the government did not give permission. This manual contains provisions for the well-being of the prisoners, such as a prisoner’s panchayat, visitors’ council, prisoner for skills development and rehabilitation.
There is a shortage of jobs and the compensation paid is insufficient.
According to the Model Prison Manual (MPM), the excess number of prisoners must be moved to other institutions. But according to the said CAG report, the officials have no concrete plans in this regard.
In response, DG (Prisons) said that a proposal had been sent to the government for upgrading two district prisons in Nizamabad and Sangareddy as central prisons with an average captivity of 1000. The state government said that this proposal is being considered.
As for women prisoners, the prison sentence in Mehboobnagar and the special prison for women in the same barracks were sentenced and prisoners sentenced.
Source: The Siasat Daily