MANGALORE: The Police Department has initiated steps to improve jail buildings and facilities in the State and increase the capacity of the 100-odd detention facilities ranging from lock-ups to central jails, by 2007. The perspective plan for this purpose includes renovation and repair of existing jails, construction of staff quarters and upgrading a few jails.

The cost of implementing the plan is Rs. 53.97 crores, of which the State Government will provide 25 per cent and the Centre the rest. New district sub-jails will built in Chamarajanagar, Udupi, Koppal, Haveri, Bagalkot, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Madikeri and taluk sub-jails in Chintamani and Sakleshpur.

The district sub-jail in Mangalore will be upgraded to a central jail in addition to the central jails in Bangalore, Mysore, Bellary, Belgaum, Gulbarga and Bijapur, according to Dharampal Negi, Additional Director-General of Police (Prisons). The district sub-jails in Karwar, Dharwad and Shimoga will be renovated.

Mr. Negi said on the phone from Bangalore that the proposal to upgrade the district sub-jail in Mangalore has been hanging fire for more than two years. It will now be done under the perspective plan. "We will upgrade facilities on the land available on the sub-jail premises there," he said.

Facilities for jail staff

N. Jayaramaiah, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Prisons), said the plan envisages providing better facilities not only for inmates but also the jail staff. "It will be our endeavour to ensure that the prisons are reforms oriented and will help a person coming out of it lead a normal life. The new jails will have better facilities aimed at reforming a person," he said.

"We will provide vocational training to inmates housed in our prisons. Besides, steps will be taken for their psychological improvement in an effort to break their old mindset, which brought them to jail in the first place, through religious and social initiatives including meditation and other activities. The last step will be their rehabilitation," he said.

On the plans to upgrade the Mangalore District Sub-Jail, Mr. Jayaramaiah said the department wants at least 100 acres of land in the city to set up a central jail. "As the availability of land is a big problem in Mangalore, we have decided to upgrade the district sub-jail into a central jail within the existing premises. When completed, it will house at least 700 inmates," he said.

Asked about plans to build the central jail at Balepuni village in Bantwal taluk, 25 km from here, he said the site was found unsuitable because of the rocky terrain there. Besides, having a jail that far away from Mangalore would have posed logistical problems for the police. "We also take into consideration the security aspect, which will be met satisfactorily at the present site," he said.

Stating that existing prisons in the State house around 12,700 prisoners against their capacity of 9,000, Mr. Jayaramaiah said this overcrowding will come down once the plan is executed.

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