Six years after deadline, new jail at Mandoli set to open next month

NEW DELHI: A new prison complex is set to open next month in the city, around 35 years after the Delhi government proposed to construct a jail and ease the woes of the packed to capacity Tihar jail.

The Mandoli jail, which will open in second week of November, will provide respite to officials in Tihar and Rohini jails, where 14,469 prisoners are lodged against the sanctioned strength of 6,250.

The current prison population in Delhi is the highest to date, officials said. Prison officers said because of the over population of prisoners, the prisoner to guard ratio is 1:15. The ideal prisoner to guard ratio is 1:3 .

Tihar Jail officials say they have to manage more than twice the capacity of the prison and it becomes difficult for them to monitor and protect every prisoner. Jail riots often break out in Tihar, one of Asia’s largest prison complexes.

Prison officials said that the Mandoli jail has a capacity of 3,777 inmates. The prison complex was expected to be finished by 2010. However, the construction was completed last month only.

Jail officers have started the recruitment for the new jail. The external security of the jail will be managed by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). The Tamil Nadu Special Police and jail staff will maintain peace inside the prison complex.

The new jail is equipped with CCTV cameras, nets to prevent outsiders from throwing in banned items and wire mesh-covered drains.

Spread over 68 acres, the complex will have six separate jail compounds. Sources said around 1500 prisoners will be shifted to Mandoli in the first week.

Unlike Tihar and the Rohini jail, the new prison will have an air cooler circulation system, which will ensure that prisoners will not require air coolers during the summer. In 2007, seven inmates in Tihar due to the heat wave. Air coolers and exhaust fans were installed across all jails after the incident.

The Mandoli jail was supposed to be launched last year but jail officers sought modification of the locks and other specifications related to security such as watch towers and mask lights. At the new jail, the height of the boundary walls has been increased to 22 feet from the 14-feet boundary walls in Tihar and Rohini.

Government sources said, initially, prisoners with a good record in prison would be shifted to Mandoli. There is also one high security ward in Mandoli for prisoners booked in heinous cases.

“Initially, only two jails inside the complex will be opened. The prisoners who are mostly first time offenders will be shifted here. There will be a detailed security review after which four other jails will be opened in different phases,” said a jail officer.

The proposal to construct a new jail in Delhi was floated in 1981. However, the construction work of the new prison at Mandoli, in east Delhi, could not start before 2008. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 340 crore.