Several deficiencies in the management of prisons in Meghalaya have been detected as inmates of existing jails were forced to live in inhuman conditions.
The failures of the jail authorities and the government to take care of the inmates and streamline the functioning of jails were revealed in a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on general, social and economic sectors for the year ending March 31, 2018.
The report was tabled in the Meghalaya Assembly on Thursday.
The report said overcrowding of Shillong district jail, which housed over 347 male inmates in 2018 against its capacity intake of 155, while the Jowai jail had 175 against 120.
The overcrowding of inmates in four out of five district jails was due to lodging the convicts and undertrials together and prolonged detention of people without trial, especially in Shillong and Jowai district jails.
The CAG has recommended that the government consider setting up jails in all districts and accelerate the trials in a time-bound manner. Efforts may be made to separately house UTPs and young offenders from convicts in the meanwhile, to avoid any undesirable adverse influence on their impressionable minds, it said.
The report spoke of the shortage of security staff and absence of proper security infrastructure.
Meghalaya has five district jails — in Shillong, Williamnagar, Jowai, Tura and Nongpoh. They can accommodate 595 male and 55 female inmates.
While the space/cells earmarked for female inmates was adequate in view of fewer number of women, audit scrutiny revealed overcrowding of male inmates vis-a-vis the capacity of prison in all the district jails, except Nongpoh.
To ease the overcrowding of Shillong district jail, construction of a new jail at Nongstoiñ in West Khasi Hills was sanctioned in 2003 at an estimated cost of Rs 6.26 crore and was targeted for completion in 2007.
However, it is yet to be completed as the state government has not sanctioned the revised estimates for the construction.
Similarly, to ease the overcrowding at Jowai and Tura jails, the DGP had in 2014 proposed construction of new district jails at Khliehriat, East Jaiñtia Hills and Ampati in South West Garo Hills but the government is yet to accord approval to the proposals.
“Despite overcrowding in four of the five district jails, the state government did not take any initiative either to complete the construction of Nongstoiñ jail or construct any other district jail during the five year period from 2013-18,” it said.
In response, the department said the sanction and administrative approval for Rs 27.6 crore for Nongstoiñ jail was accorded by the government in January this year and process of tendering for the work has been initiated.
The CAG has recommended bringing about reforms in the prisons and ensure that prisoners are provided with the basic minimum amenities to live with dignity.
It also said the State Advisory Board and Sentence Review Board, which are meant to improve the functioning of the prisons, have not been constituted in the state.
The Board of Visitors, responsible to look after the welfare of the prisoners, neither made monthly visit to the district jails nor held any meetings to discuss related issues.
The Assam Jail Manual, 1894, as adopted by Meghalaya, has not been updated and does not reflect and address contemporary issues.
The government needs to bring about reforms in the prisons and ensure that prisoners are provided with the basic minimum amenities to live with dignity,” it said.
It also asserted that literacy programmes should be encouraged and correctional services should be put in place to ensure that the prisoners starts a new life after services out their sentence.
