UP will build 20 brand-new, cutting-edge prisons

The Uttar Pradesh government has chosen to build 20 new, high-tech jails in the state, including 11 districts that do not currently have any prisons, in response to allegations that prisons in the state are overflowing.

A government spokesman said here on Monday that the budget had been released and the Prison department had been given the go-ahead to proceed with the work. "In addition to this, the process of construction of one central jail and other jails in nine districts has also started while the number of barracks is being increased in some of the jails," the spokesman added.

He said that in consideration of the current situation, these prisons will be high-tech.

To finish building the new prisons, the government has set a goal of two to five years.

Officials from the prison administration had earlier notified Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a high-level meeting that the state's central and district prisons were now overcrowded. They emphasised the need of creating new prisons while keeping in mind the amenities listed in the jail handbook and safeguarding the detainees' human rights.

Top officials from the Prison Administration and Reform Services informed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that the seven central prisons in Uttar Pradesh presently house 15,201 convicts, or 111% of their capacity, as opposed to a capacity to house 13,669 prisoners.

Similar to this, 95,597 prisoners—or 194% of the available space—are being held in 62 district prisons, each of which has a 49,107-prison capacity. Two sub-jails have a combined capacity of 306 convicts, however 664 inmates are now housed there, filling the facility to 216% of its maximum. There are 148 people being held at the women's central jail, which is 123% of its capacity of 120 inmates.

The prison administration was then given the go-ahead by the chief minister to submit a proposal for the building of more facilities. After that, the state's prisons administration proposed building additional jails in 11 districts, and the chief minister subsequently authorised it at a different meeting.

The path was paved for their construction once the government disclosed the funding for constructing new prisons, especially in those state districts where there are no jails.

"The building has begun in 11 districts, including jails with 990 and 1,000 prisoner capacities in Amethi and Mahoba, Kushinagar, Chandauli, Auraiya, Hapur, Sambhal, Amroha, and Bhadohi, 1,026 in Hathras, and 2,000 in Shamli.

"In a same vein, work has been sped up on building a new central prison in Lalitpur with space for 2,000 convicts. The process of building a second district prison in Lalitpur with a 1,000-inmate capacity has begun at the same time, the official added.

Moreover, funding has been allocated for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the existing jail in Bareilly, which will have a capacity of 2,579 inmates. In addition, work is being done to build prisons at Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Shahjahanpur, Budaun, and Varanasi that can hold 3,000 inmates apiece, 2,000 in Budaun, 1,000 in Rampur, and 5,000 in Kanpur Nagar.

At the same time, by the end of March, the district prisons in Shravasti and Prayagraj, each having a capacity for 502 inmates, will be completed. Moreover, the Gorakhpur district jail is building a barrack with a 30-prison capacity.

More than 35,000 convicts might be transferred there, according to the official, with the building of new prisons, repairs to existing jails, and expansions of the capacity of jail barracks.