With prisoner headcount down, 17 jails closed in Telangana

: Seventeen out of the 49 jails in Telangana have been shut down temporarily following reduction in number of prisoners getting lodged in the jails and the state prisons department intends to use the closed prisons for social welfare centres.

According to the department, the 17 jails were closed down over the past five years due to insufficient prisoners which, it is said, is the result of the reformation and rehabilitation measures undertaken by them and motivating the prisoners to act as partners in the elimination of crime from society.

The number of prisoners has come down from about 7,000 to about 5,000, the department said.

The department, which has been striving to reduce crime, had launched different social service initiatives, and also started the concept of 'Aftercare Services' to facilitate and help the ex-prisoners lead normal life and not fall back upon crime.

The closed prisons can be used for social welfare centres or special homes for beggars, destitute, orphans, etc. at least temporarily, said director general of prisons and correctional services Vinoy Kumar Singh said.

The department, which intends to run 100 petrol bunks, currently operates 18 petrol pumps in Hyderabad city and different districts wherein some released prisoners and inmates (convicts undergoing sentences) besides former jail authorities man such bunks.

The prisons department has prepared a list of 1,000 habitual offenders in the state, we will be able to cut down the crime graph in the state by engaging almost all the habitual criminals, the top jail official said adding some of them are already self-employed or employed in one of the prison industries or placed somewhere in job melas organised by it.

Also, the department has prepared a list of 1,000 habitual offenders in the state, we will be able to cut down the crime graph in the state by engaging almost all the habitual criminals, the top jail official said adding some of them are already self-employed or employed in one of the prison industries or placed somewhere in job melas organised by it.

The department has come up with an innovative idea and is thinking of entry into housing development activities and make housing plots for the middle class and lower middle class at cost-to-cost basis by hiring released prisoners.

As Telangana government is providing houses under 2BHK scheme to poor people, the prisons Department would make available plots for middle-class and lower middle-class people in gated communities at very affordable prices, Singh said.