Centre more focused on changing correctional system: Bandi

Visakhapatnam: Based on suggestions and recommendations made by prison heads from various states and Union Territories, efforts will be made to adopt best practices, said Union minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Addressing the inaugural session of ‘9th National Conference of Correctional Administrators’ organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh Prisons and Correctional Services in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, Sanjay Kumar opined that through such conferences, there is a larger scope to bring in transformation among the prisoners. “Instead of making the prisoners serve a fear-induced term in jails, the Central government is focusing on bringing in a significant change among them to transform them through structural reforms and policy guidance,” he underlined. In order to overcome the lapses in the system, Sanjay said that concrete measures have been taken to develop the system by allocating Rs 950 crore for prison modernisation and high-security prisons.

Keeping the concrete measures for improving safety and welfare of the prisoners in view, the Union minister informed that the Central government is focusing on several measures for improving prison infrastructure and enhancing welfare of the inmates. As part of the ‘support to poor prisoners’ scheme’, he said the Centre has allocated Rs 20 crore to assist poor prisoners. Special focus is paid on prisoners’ welfare, while 15,875 prison officers were trained through 700 capacity-building programmes, Sanjay informed.

Expressing grief over the tragic demise of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, Sanjay said that he was deeply saddened and shocked by the unfortunate accident. “Every time he contested in the elections, he won the hearts of the people,” he said.

Focused on the theme ‘towards humane and reformative correctional administration in Amrit Kaal’, the conference brought prison heads from various states and Union Territories conference, and speak about bringing in prison reforms, using technology in prison management, raising standards and strengthening the correctional system and building a secure, humane and reform-oriented prison system through Centre-state coordination.

During the conference, Tata Institute of Social Science professor Vijay Raghavan shared some of the suggestions to improve the correctional administration.

A separate session on ‘Standards for Model Jail’ was presented by Anjani Kumar, director general of Prisons and Correctional Services, Andhra Pradesh. Focusing on model prison standards and their implementation, presentations were delivered by Jitendra Singh Meena, IG (R&CA), BPR&D, and M Varaprasad, DIG prisons, AP, among others.

Later, Sanjay Kumar browsed through various products crafted by the prisoners exhibited during the conference.