Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Nov. 30 (EMN): Provision of adequate fund is prerequisite for effective functioning of every institution, be it government or private.
Detailed information on prison’s budget including sanctions, Plan expenditure, non-Plan expenditure and other expenditures have been updated at the NCRB website.
Sanctioned budget
The sanctioned budget for the year 2017-2018, which was INR 5,253.7 crore, decreased by 3.8% when compared with 2016-2017, which was INR 5,463.4 crore at all-India level.
The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir reported maximum increase in budget provision during 2017-2018 at 66.5%, followed by Meghalaya with 55.3%.
The highest decline was reported in Goa with 69.4%, followed by Tripura with 68.3%.
The allocated annual budget was highest for Uttar Pradesh with INR 913.1 crore during 2017-2018, followed by Bihar with INR 392.1 crore.
The sanctioned budget almost tallies the actual expenditure for Nagaland.
In the year 2015-2016, a total of INR 37 crore was sanctioned which was utilised fully; in 2016-2017, an amount of INR 39.2 crore was sanctioned out of which INR 39 was used. And during 2017-2018, INR 44.4 crore was sanctioned against which the annual expenditure was INR 44.1 crore.
Expenditure (Plan and non-Plan)
Expenditure on specific planned activities under the Five-Year Plan is termed as Plan expenditure.
The day-to-day expenses and payments of salaries, wages, rent, or infrastructural developments and improvements, etc., come under non-Plan expenditure.
The highest Plan expenditure was reported in Delhi with INR 303 crore followed by Gujarat with 137.3 crore; while the highest non-Plan expenditure was reported in Uttar Pradesh with INR 824.9 crore followed by Bihar with INR 307.6 crore. Telangana and Tripura reported more expenditure than the sanctioned budget.
Expenses on inmates
The expenses on inmates in total annual expenditure, as per the NCRB report, was compiled on the basis of share of expenses on inmates to total expenditure of states/UTs.
Haryana reported the highest share of expenses on inmates at 99.1% out of the total annual expenditure, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 92.9%.
According to the NCRB, the share of expenses on inmates in total annual expenditure at national level is 35.6%, out of which Nagaland sharing a percentage of 6.7% is the least among all states/UTs when compared to the national average.
In Northeast, Assam reported the highest share of expenses with 32.6%, followed by Sikkim with 25.7%.
The other share of expenditure on prison inmates were spent on food, clothing, medical, vocational, educational facilities, welfare activities and other expenses for which Nagaland spent a total of INR 2.936 crore as per the chart provided.
Prison infrastructure
A total of 18 jails were constructed during the year 2017, out of which eight were district jails, three sub jails, three open jails, two central jails and two women jails. A total of 348 jails were renovated in the same year.
Out of the 348 jails, Nagaland’s only central jail located in Dimapur was also renovated along with five other district jails.
The report also shows a huge difference in strength of staff when compared to the sanctioned staff strength.
As of December 31, 2017, the total sanctioned staff strength was 83,288 while the actual strength of all jail staff was 57,307—showing a shortage of 25,981 jail staff.
Also, against the 57,307 staff strength, the number of quarters available were 32,698 indicating a huge shortage of staff quarters.
In Nagaland, the total sanctioned staff strength as of December 31, 2017 was 583, while the actual staff strength was 580. The number of quarters for the jail staff was only 106.
As per the report, Nagaland has 31 vehicles out of the total 2450 vehicles available in prison departments in the country.
Out of a total 35,983 electronic devices available, Nagaland has 26 electronic equipments used in prisons. The equipments include 13 computers, 11 CCTV surveillances, single phone, and a single fax machine.
Five hundred sixty-eight jails out of the total 1,361 jails are equipped with video conferencing facility. In Nagaland, no video conferencing facility has been installed in any of the jails.
