Latest news with #SupporttoPoorPrisonersScheme
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Centre asks states, UTs to provide financial assistance to poor prisoners
NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) to give financial assistance from a Central fund to poor prisoners, who are unable to secure bail or release from jails on account of their inability to pay the fine awarded to them by various courts due to their financial situation. In an identical communication to the states and the UTs, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has asked them to avail the funds made available by it from where they can draw an appropriate amount to provide benefits to the eligible prisoners to secure bail. It is to be noted here that the MHA provides funds to the states and the UTs through the Central Nodal Agency (CNA), which is administered by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In the letter the MHA said, 'As you are aware, this Ministry had introduced the 'Support to Poor Prisoners Scheme' in May, 2023, with the objective of providing financial assistance to states and UTs for extending relief to poor prisoners, who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine on account of financial constraints.' It is, however, noticed that despite repeated follow-up, funds have mostly remained used as many states and UTs have not identified the eligible prisoners and have not provided the benefit of the scheme to them, the MHA said, adding that though a few of states and UTs used the funds, the overall implementation of the scheme has not been very encouraging.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
MHA asks states, UTs to utilise Central fund to help poor prisoners obtain bail
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all the states and union territories to provide financial assistance from a Central fund to poor prisoners who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine owing to financial constraints. In a communication, the Ministry of Home Affairs ( MHA ) has conveyed to all the states and union territories to avail the funds made available by it from where they can draw an appropriate amount to provide benefits to the eligible prisoners. Funds to the states and UTs are provided through the Central Nodal Agency (CNA). The National Crime Records Bureau has been designated as the CNA for this scheme. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Solo si nació entre 1956-1996 Accede al programa con Amazon CFD TradeLG Haz clic aquí Undo "As you are aware, the Ministry of Home Affairs had introduced the 'Support to Poor Prisoners Scheme' in May, 2023, with the objective of providing financial assistance to states and UTs for extending relief to poor prisoners who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine on account of financial constraints," the communication said. However, the MHA said, despite repeated follow-up, funds have remained unutilised as many states and UTs have not identified the eligible prisoners and have not provided the benefit of the scheme to them. Live Events While a few states and UTs have utilised the funds, the overall implementation of the scheme by them has not been very encouraging, it said. The MHA has already issued guidelines and a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the implementation of the scheme. As part of the guidelines, states and UTs were advised to constitute an 'empowered committee' in each district and an 'oversight committee' at the state headquarters level. According to the guidelines, these committees are responsible for sanctioning financial aid to the eligible prisoners. The MHA said that during the several conferences held with the states and UTs to review the implementation of the scheme, its importance was consistently emphasised, highlighting its potential to bring relief to the poor prisoners who remain incarcerated due to financial constraints. "It may be appreciated that effective implementation of the scheme can not only help mitigate the problems faced by the poor prisoners, but also contribute towards reducing overcrowding in prisons. "The states and UTs are, therefore, requested to make concerted efforts in identifying the eligible prisoners as per the guidelines of the scheme and hold regular meetings of the empowered committees in each district for providing relief to the poor prisoners," the MHA said. According to the India Justice Report 2025 released recently, the national average occupancy rate in jails is of more than 131 per cent. The number of undertrial prisoners is estimated to be 76 per cent of the entire prison population. The report suggested that the prison population is expected to reach 6.8 lakh by 2030, even though the capacity in jails is likely to grow up to 5.15 lakh only. MHA officials said while there was no overcrowding in some states, the jails in few states are still heavily overcrowded.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
MHA asks states, UTs to use central fund to help poor prisoners secure bail, pay fines
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all the states and union territories to provide financial assistance from a Central fund to poor prisoners who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine owing to financial constraints. In a communication, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has conveyed to all the states and union territories to avail the funds made available by it from where they can draw an appropriate amount to provide benefits to the eligible prisoners. Funds to the states and UTs are provided through the Central Nodal Agency (CNA). The National Crime Records Bureau has been designated as the CNA for this scheme. "As you are aware, the Ministry of Home Affairs had introduced the 'Support to Poor Prisoners Scheme' in May, 2023, with the objective of providing financial assistance to states and UTs for extending relief to poor prisoners who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine on account of financial constraints," the communication said. However, the MHA said, despite repeated follow-up, funds have remained unutilised as many states and UTs have not identified the eligible prisoners and have not provided the benefit of the scheme to them. While a few states and UTs have utilised the funds, the overall implementation of the scheme by them has not been very encouraging, it said. The MHA has already issued guidelines and a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the implementation of the scheme. As part of the guidelines, states and UTs were advised to constitute an 'empowered committee' in each district and an 'oversight committee' at the state headquarters level.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
MHA asks states, UTs to utilise Central fund to help poor prisoners obtain bail
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all the states and union territories to extend financial assistance from a Central fund to poor prisoners who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine owing to financial constraints. In a communication, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has conveyed to all the states and union territories to avail the funds made available by it from where they can draw an appropriate amount to provide benefits to the eligible prisoners. Funds to the states and UTs are provided through the Central Nodal Agency (CNA). The National Crime Records Bureau has been designated as the CNA for this scheme. "As you are aware, the Ministry of Home Affairs had introduced the 'Support to Poor Prisoners Scheme' in May, 2023, with the objective of providing financial assistance to states and UTs for extending relief to poor prisoners who are unable to secure bail or release from prison due to non-payment of fine on account of financial constraints," the communication said. However, the MHA said, despite repeated follow-up, funds have remained unutilised as many states and UTs have not identified the eligible prisoners and have not provided the benefit of the scheme to them. While a few states and UTs have utilised the funds, the overall implementation of the scheme by them has not been very encouraging, it said. The MHA has already issued guidelines and a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the implementation of the scheme. As part of the guidelines, states and UTs were advised to constitute an 'empowered committee' in each district and an 'oversight committee' at the state headquarters level. According to the guidelines, these committees are responsible for sanctioning financial aid to the eligible prisoners. The MHA said that during the several conferences held with the states and UTs to review the implementation of the scheme, its importance was consistently emphasised, highlighting its potential to bring relief to the poor prisoners who remain incarcerated due to financial constraints. "It may be appreciated that effective implementation of the scheme can not only help mitigate the problems faced by the poor prisoners, but also contribute towards reducing overcrowding in prisons.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
State Jails 149% Overcrowded; 14,608 More Inmate Slots Planned
1 2 Nagpur: Maharashtra's 60 jails are bursting at the seams, with inmate occupancy at a staggering 149% of the sanctioned capacity. The state's prison population averaged 40,634 over the last three years against an approved capacity of just 27,184, according to an affidavit filed before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court home department's affidavit, submitted by principal secretary (appeals & security) Radhika Rastogi, came in response to a high court directive in criminal writ petition (No.256/2025) filed by Nanded-based undertrial Sachin Lone through counsel Ratna Singh. The state has chalked out an ambitious plan to address this chronic overcrowding, including the construction of nine new jails across key locations."New central and district prisons are being established at Palghar, Yerwada (Pune), Thane, Gondia, Hingoli, Bhusawal, Ahilyanagar, and Baramati," the affidavit states. Collectively, these projects will create 14,608 additional prison slots. Among them, Palghar and Baramati projects are already underway, while Ahilyanagar has completed contractor selection and begun state is also building 44 new barracks in existing prisons to accommodate 1,370 more inmates. An additional 67 barracks are proposed in the 2025-26 budget across 12 prisons, aimed at easing congestion in key acquisition is underway for 16 more proposed prisons, including those in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, Mankhurd, and Satara. The affidavit notes that construction will begin once suitable land is secured and necessary clearances are state has also proposed a massive new jail in Thane with a 3,000-inmate capacity. A project management consultant has been appointed, and further formalities are in process. Approvals have also been granted for new barracks in Yerwada, Buldhana, Satara, Nagpur, and manage inmate load, authorities have been transferring prisoners from overpopulated jails to facilities with lower occupancy. In parallel, the state is implementing the ' Support to Poor Prisoners Scheme ', which offers financial aid to undertrials and convicts who are unable to pay bail sureties or fines. Thirty inmates have already benefited under this affidavit also refers to earlier submissions made before the Supreme Court and human rights bodies, demonstrating the state's commitment to long-term correctional reform. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Mother's Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
