Indian jails overcrowded, need trained administration: NGO

Most Indian jails are overcrowded with undertrials and inmates living under miserable conditions and there is a need for a trained administration to bring reformation in prisoners' lives, an NGO today said.
Stressing on the need for a better prison visiting system in India, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) today said the country's jails require a trained prison administrators to improve the situation.
"Jails in the country are overcrowded with inmates and undertrials and there must be trained prison officials if the pathetic conditions of inmates needs to be improved or reformed," Maja Daruwala, Director of CHRI, said at a conference, which was jointly organised with Rajasthan Prison Department and State Human Rights Commission here.

Poor budget allocation, the way accused are arrested and non-issuance of bail along with miserable conditions in prisons were leading factors attributed to the existing living conditions of the inmates, Daruwala said.
She highlighted that 60 per cent prisons were congested with undertrials.
The posts of Director-General of Police (Prison) and Inspector General of police (Jail) should also be filled through Prison Services in the country. It was a must to bringing reforms in prisoners' lives, she said.

There are several vacancies in jail departments in the country, which needed to be filled up, she said.
On the role of 'Non-Official Visitors' (NOV), which the state government appointed in 94 jails, Daruwala said, "NOV should take up the work as a mission and make their recommendations to jails and the state governments, so that the rights of inmates' are protected."

Defending the jail reforms, Director General of Police (Jail) in Rajasthan Ajit Singh said the human rights of inmates have been very well protected over a period of time in the state prisons.
Prisoners who have been working are paid well as per the
rules, while they are also held accountable for their behaviour during the tenure in jails, Singh added.
He also advised NOV to study laws and make their suggestions or recommendations to the prison authorities without any reservation.
They (NOV) should also get proper training and skill before visiting any jail and inmates, he added.
About 100 NOV across Rajasthan are participating in a two-day training workshop.

Meanwhile, Dalpat Singh Dinkar, Additional Director General of police in Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission (RSHRC), said there were no satisfactory arrangements or facilities for inmates in jail.
Poor inmates or undertrials should be given legal service and NOV should take up this task on their shoulders, ADG-RSHRC said.
In his statement, Member of RSHRC M K Devrajan asked NOVs to make regular visits to jails and make strong recommendations at all levels for better rights of prisoners.