'MHA provided ₹100 cr to states, UTs to strengthen E-prisons portal'

NEW DELHI: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has strengthened the 'E-prisons' portal by providing financial assistance to the states and the Union Territories (UTs) to the tune of Rs 100 crores recently, Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra informed the Rajya Sabha.

The objective of E-prisons is to create end-to-end IT solutions for the automation of prison operations, including digitisation and availability of prisoner records in an electronic platform accessible to designated authorities as well as to prison inmates, enabling them to have direct access to information related to them like date of release, parole, visitor's booking, remission and redressal of grievances, the Minister said in a written reply to a query.

The MoS further said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also been assisting the states and the UTs for modernizing the security infrastructure in prisons as well as in strengthening the IT infrastructure in jails, which is intended to aid in efficient prison administration.

Replying to a question about the number of prisoners in the country who have not been released from the jails even after completing their sentence, Mishra said the administration and management of prisons and prison inmates is the concern of respective state governments, who have the responsibility to ensure that prisoners are released from jail on completion of their sentence.

However, the MHA has been supplementing the efforts of the state governments by issuing advisories on varied aspects of prison administration from time to time.

"Circulation of Model Prison Manual 2016, to all states and the UTs, is also a step in this direction. The Manual has specific chapters on 'Execution of Sentences', 'Prison Computerisation', and 'Premature Release', which provides detailed guidance to the states and UTs."