State to seek DP workaround for redevelopment of Arthur Road Jail
MUMBAI: The plan to redevelop Arthur Road jail, Mumbai's main prison, has inched forward, with the state deciding to urge the civic administration to ease a provision that would force it to surrender a sizable portion of its property.
Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam told officials of his department and the jails department of the city police on Thursday to prepare a plan for a new ground-plus-four storey prison that would accommodate 5,000 prisoners. The present British-era jail has a capacity for 800 inmates although it houses as many as 3,500.
The challenge to building a new structure comes from a provision in the city's Development Plan (DP), which mandates that the jail give up a significant portion of its property when it redevelops the prison. The land thus surrendered would add 15 metres to the width of the road outside, converting it into a 35-metre-wide stretch. The portion in question currently houses the jail's staff quarters.
'The government is working on plans to redevelop Arthur Road Jail as well as Byculla Jail, which is for women. For the Arthur Road Jail redevelopment, I have directed officials to submit a fresh proposal with a request for concessions from the provisions in the DP, to construct a ground-plus-four storey structure. We will request the BMC commissioner for the concession,' said Kadam.
He has directed officials from the home department and prisons department to visit the Singapore jail before preparing the plan. He has also asked officials to work on plot reservations on 22 acres of land in Mankhurd for the construction of a new jail.
A home department official said the new Arthur Road Jail would be built in phases and four temporary barracks would be constructed inside the premises, to accommodate the inmates.
Kadam also said the new jail would have three courtrooms. This would save time and money as inmates would not have to be transported for court hearings outside. It would also ease the pressure to provide security to the inmates while transporting them.
'During the trial of Ajmal Kasab, who had led the attack on Mumbai in 2008, a court was set up inside the Arthur Road Jail. Adding two more courtrooms would ease the pressure on the police to provide security and other arrangements to inmates for travel to court,' said Kadam.
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