LAHORE, Sept 1: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Monday ordered the construction of five new district jails and 86 judicial lock-ups at tehsil level in a bid to improve prison conditions in the province
The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by the chief minister and also attended by the Punjab chief secretary, home secretary and heads of police and prison departments.
The districts to benefit from the scheme are: Narowal, Hafizabad, Khushab, Lodhran and Khanewal.
Directing the formation of a ‘strike force’ to combat any crisis, the CM said the changes were aimed at overcoming difficulties in transportation of prisoners, improving security arrangements, ensuring easy access to justice and lessening burden on district and central jails. He said the strike force would be equipped with latest gadgets.
Pervaiz Elahi also directed the Punjab Institute of Mental Health to work out modalities to set up its wards in prisons for the treatment of those inmates suffering from psychiatric problems.
He also ordered the recruitment of doctors on contract basis for those jails where posts of medical officers were lying vacant. He said a rehabilitation centre for addicts would be set up at the provincial level.
The chief minister told the meeting that a complete overhaul of the prison department was being done for which all vacancies would be filled and basic reforms would be introduced in the internal management system of the central and district jails. Re-organisation of the jail department inspectorate was also a must, he said.
To make the jail inspection system and supervisory control more effective, Elahi said in first phase two DIGs — one for north and the other for southern regions of the Punjab — would be appointed. He also asked the senior command of the jail department to reorganize altogether the training system of the prison officials.
The chief minister also ordered the establishment of three vocational institutes at the Lahore Central Jail, Faisalabad Borstal Jail and Multan’s New Central Jail, where courses in the fields of computer, electronics and dispenser would be introduced besides other programmes.
The CM also approved construction of jails for women and juveniles in Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.
Earlier, Punjab prisons IGP Pervaiz Rahim Rajput gave a detailed briefing to the CM.