Indian jails overcrowded, says government

New Delhi, March 15: There were 418,536 prisoners in Indian jails at the end of 2014, against the capacity of 356,561, the government said on Tuesday, March 15.

Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha that this, according to a National Crime Record Bureau report, amounted to overcrowding by 117.4 percent.

The minister said prison administration was primarily the responsibility of state governments.

But the central government supported the states in this respect between 2002 and 2009.

However, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh "were unable to utilise the funds to the tune of Rs.12.20 crore for various reasons", the minister said in a statement.

The reasons included non-acquisition of land, unsuitability of land and non-availability of matching share, he said.

IANS