During Question Hour in the Assembly today, Independent legislator Manas Chaudhuri brought to the notice of the government that the jailbreaks and the shootouts have very often inconvenienced people as Shillong Jail is situated in a busy area.
The minister-in-charge of home (jails), Augustine Marak, assured the House that the suggestion of shifting the Shillong Jail from the city would be examined.
Shillong does not have a central jail with modern facilities and the present Shillong Jail complex, built during the British period, has only added a few new buildings. The jail caters to East and West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts, so overcrowding has become the order of the day.
There were suggestions from various quarters in the past to decongest Shillong Jail or shift it to a new area on outskirts of the town.
To a question by James Sangma (NCP), Marak admitted that the jails in Shillong, Tura, Williamnagar and Jowai are overcrowded. While the total capacity of these jails is 540, the total number of prisoners confined in them is 627.
The minister said the government would seriously make efforts to decongest jails in the state. A jail at Nongpoh in Ri Bhoi district is nearing completion and the government is also planning to construct another at Nongstoin in West Khasi Hills, he added.
Marak said one more barrack would be set up in Shillong Jail, which houses 263 prisoners, compared to the actual capacity of 150, as part of the de-congestion plan.
Regarding the steps taken to reform the inmates of the prisons, the minister said the prison department had taken initiatives to appoint carpentry and craft instructors in all the jails in the state to impart vocational training to the jail inmates.
He said that the amount spent on jail reforms for the year 2009-10 was Rs 11 lakh.