Crime and punishment : 12 new district jails to be completed this year

Each of them will have capacity to house 1,000 inmates

LAHORE: The Prisons Department is all set to complete construction of 12 new district jails in the province, the Prisons Inspector General told The Express Tribune on Friday.

Documents available with the Tribune state that the prisons will be completed at a cost of Rs10.53 billion. Each prison will have the capacity to house 1,000 inmates.

Two of the 12 under construction prisons are high-security facilities.

These are located in Mianwali and Sahiwal. The former will be constructed at a cost of Rs1,191.906 million and the latter at Rs980 million.

The remaining 10 are located in Hafizabad (built at a cost of Rs1,402 million); Narowal (at a cost of Rs1,055 million); Lodhran (at a cost of Rs1,211 million); Khanewal (at a cost of Rs1,212 million); Rajanpur (at a cost of Rs1,088 million); Okara – residential area (at a cost of Rs132 million) and Okara – non-residential area (at a cost of 428 million); Bhakkar (at a cost of Rs375 million); Pakpattan (at a cost of Rs439 million) and Layyah (at a cost of Rs893 million).

The department is also upgrading a judicial lock-up in Shujabad to a sub-jail at a cost of Rs119 million. It will have the capacity to house 500 inmates after the upgrade. Approval has also been granted for upgrade of judicial lock-ups in Samundri and Pindi Bhattian to sub-jails.

It has completed construction of family rooms in Multan, Lahore and Faisalabad central jails. These facilities will become operational in another month. Construction of family rooms in Rawalpindi central jail is still underway.

The Prisons IG says that construction of central watch towers in 10 jails of the province will begin once funds are allocated for the purpose by the Planning and Development Department.

The construction of central watchtowers at Sahiwal, Lahore, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur central jails and Shahpur, Sargodha, Sialkot, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh and Bahawlnagar district jails was approved by the government by September 2015.

The project will be completed at a cost of Rs47.388 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2016.