As part of a major reform to upgrade prisons, the government will start six new open jails across the State this year. The State Home Department approved the proposal to move prisoners with good conduct into these facilities on Thursday.
The prisons will come up at Sindhudurg, Dhule, Rantagiri, Yavatmal, Latur and Wardha, officials said. The State currently has 13 open prisons.
The idea behind starting more open prisons is to change the jail culture of keeping a convict or undertrial in a confined environment. Soon, each district will get an open prison, officials said.
The six new facilities will enable prisoners to learn skills such as carpentry, sari and cloth making, and farming. “We intend to sell the products made in the open prisons,” a senior official of the Home Department said.
The 13 open prisons house and a total of 764 prisoners at present. The open prison in Paithan has the maximum prisoners at 212. According to government guidelines, prisoners with good behaviour are sent to open jail. Their behaviour is monitored to assign ratings and grades.
“We have even allowed families in some cases to stay in the open prisons, thereby giving a push to the prisoner to live a normal life,” said an official.
The objective is to protect prisoners from the potential ill-effects of long-term incarceration and continuous exposure to criminal culture in closed prisons. Such facilities aim to create an atmosphere where inmates have opportunities for education, vocational training and self-discipline.
