Chandigarh, March 16 A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has highlighted overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and poor medical facilities in Punjab jails.
According to the audit report, which was presented in the state assembly on Monday, the administration took six years to adopt the framework outlined in the Model Prison Manual, 2016 and notify the Punjab Prison Rules, 2022.
Despite recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee, overcrowding in jails persisted, the report stated.
The state has 26 jails of various categories: 10 central jails, seven district jails, two women's jails in Bathinda and Ludhiana, one borstal jail in Ludhiana, one open-air jail in Nabha (Patiala), and five sub-jails.
According to the report, against a capacity of 23,638 male inmates, occupancy was 24,101 in 2021-22. Similarly, occupancy was 28,481 in 2022-23 against a capacity of 23,658 male inmates.
The report pointed out that overcrowding was a major deterrent in providing basic facilities to inmates.
An audit of the records of the jails revealed that, among other factors, prolonged custody of undertrial prisoners due to missed court hearings and delays in constructing or renovating new jails had notably contributed to the increase in overcrowding year after year, thereby worsening the already inadequate availability of facilities for jail inmates in Punjab.
The government responded by stating that building additional barracks in the existing six jails, and constructing a new high-security jail in Ludhiana and a new district jail in Mohali were underway, and this would increase the authorized capacity.
Further, the government said that a weekly review of the jail population was being conducted by a State Level Committee headed by the Inspector General (Prisons), and based on these reviews, from January 2021 to December 2023, 17,916 inmates were transferred from overcrowded jails to less crowded ones.
The government also stated that all adult male prisoners, except those serving life sentences, may be allowed to stay in the district or central prisons nearest to their home district, in respect of convict inmates.
However, the report stated that the government's response was not in line with the actual situation on the ground, as 6,204 male inmates and 203 female inmates were still housed in jails exceeding authorized capacity, despite vacancies in other jails, and only 5,017 inmates (806 during 2021-22 and 4,211 during 2022-23) out of the total 17,916 were transferred to ease overcrowding.
The report also found that toilet facilities were inadequate in 74 per cent of male and 63 per cent of female barracks, leading to unhygienic conditions.
Health care facilities also exhibited a shortage of 72 per cent in hospital beds and 60 per cent in medical staff, the report said.
This necessitated the treatment of 45,497 inmates in Civil Hospitals outside the jail, thereby enabling 22 prisoners to escape, it added.