Hyderabad: At the time of state formation, there were around 7,000 inmates in prisons. The number had come down to 5,900 due to the initiatives taken by the prisons’ department. The department introduced the ‘Maha Parivarthan’ programme in 2015 and began reforms by following correctional rules. The department provided loans to the families of prisoners to establish small businesses, for the education of children and marriages of daughters and sisters of the inmates.
The department concentrated on the deaths of prisoners in prisons, which was as high as 4 per month. Officials have identified the cause behind the deaths – the prisoners were addicted to cigarettes and tobacco products, which caused asthma and heart disease. In 2015, the department banned all tobacco products in prisons and made yoga and parade mandatory, which led to a healthy, disciplined atmosphere in jails. Due to all this, the number of deaths declined to 30 in 2016 against an average of 55 in previous years and in 2017, only five deaths were registered.
Besides, the department introduced the ‘Vidya Danam’ scheme to provide education to all inmates. In the last two years, nearly 30,000 inmates became literate and those who entered jail by giving their thumb impressions in the register, signed in their own handwriting while being released. Under the correctional services programme, the department has been holding a series of guest lectures by personality development trainers in all the jails. Also, they have been introducing sports meets for prisoners for the first time in the country.
Prisons’ in-charge IG Akula Narasimha said that about 1,233 habitual offenders and hard core criminals were released in the last three years, of which only eight came back to jail again. “Other prisoners changed their attitude with our ‘Maha Parivarthan’ programmes and settled down in life by going into small businesses, agriculture and private jobs for their bread and butter,” he said. He added that most of the released prisoners who got jobs through the ‘Placement Cell’ of TS Prisons’ were life convicts in murder cases. Prisons’ dept produces skilled professionals
