Badal calls for toning up jail administration

Chandigarh, Jan 11 (UNI) To prevent unruly incidents, like the one that occurred at the Jalandhar Central Jail on Tuesday when prisoners went on the rampage and damaged jail property, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal directed his senior officers to initiate measures to tone up prison administration so as to avoid such incidents from reoccurring.

These directions were issued by Mr Badal at a high level meeting while reviewing the administrative functioning of the prisons in the state.

Jail Minister Hira Singh Gabria, Chief Secretary R I Singh, Principal Secretary of Home Affairs and Justice B C Gupta, Director General of Police (Prisons) Mohamad Izhar Alam, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Parveen Kumar besides senior functionaries of the state administration and jail superintendents of all Central Jails of Punjab also attended the meeting.

It was also decided to appoint 24 new Assistant Superintendent Prisons (ASPs) soon, to streamline the functioning of jails in the state and fill vacant posts.

While addressing the meeting, Mr Badal said administration of the jails were needed to be tuned up and basic requirements like fresh and clean drinking water, flush system in toilets, sewerage, tubewells and water tanks were needed to be provided to prison inmates.

The Chief Minister directed the finance department to release Rs 11 crore immediately for providing these facilities to the inmates. He also asked the finance department to release Rs 25 lakh for the repair of the damaged property in Jalandhar Central Jail.

Regarding the over crowding in most of the prisons, Mr Badal said the Punjab Government had already announced the construction of new jails at Faridkot and Kapurthala to accomodate prisoners of other prisons including Jalandhar Central Jail. These new jails would accommodate about 3000 prisoners.

The government has already finalised plans to complete these jails by the beginning of next year.

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