No transfer of staffers of Prison Deptt in 2020-21

By Dheeraj Fartode :

IN A major administrative decision, the Maharashtra Prison Department has decided not to effect transfer of jail staffers in the State during the 2020-21 financial year on the lines of guidelines issued by Bombay High Court. A d d i t i o n a l Director General of Police (ADG) Prison, Sunil Ramanand, issued the circular quoting order of Bombay High Court - “As far as staff deployed in the correctional homes/temporary prisons shall be posted in the present place of posting and they will not be rotated.”

The Maharashtra Prison Department has staff of more than 4,500 constables and officers. ADG Ramanand told ‘The Hitavada’ that no transfers would be carried out in the department following the orders of the court. Sources said the decision would help the department to contain spread of Novel Coronavirus in the jails of Maharashtra. It would be difficult for the staff to move their families from one place to another during the lockdown period, they averred. It may be mentioned that more than 10,000 prisoners have been granted temporary bail or emergency parole so far Before the lockdown, 35,239 inmates were lodged in the 60 jails across the State against their official capacity to hold 24,032.

After COVID-19 cases were detected at Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail, the Maharashtra Prison Department had submitted a report to a high-powered committee appointed on orders of the Supreme Court to decongest jails in May this year. The Maharashtra Prison Division consists of nine Central Jails, 31 District Jails, 19 Open Jails, 1 Open Colony and 172 Sub-Jails.

There are separate Jails for women in Pune and Mumbai. There are open jails for women in Pune and Akola too. Work is also under way to build more barracks in the existing prisons of Maharashtra to decrease decongestion. The Public Works Department is constructing new prisons and barracks as well as repairing the existing prison premises.