UP JAILS BURSTING AT SEAMS..! 89,256 Inmates Cram 76,475 Slots
Responding to SP MLA Rajendra Prasad Chaudhary during the Budget Session’s seventh day, Minister Chauhan laid bare a 116.7% occupancy crisis gripping the prison system.
Uttar Pradesh’s 76 jails are buckling under pressure, housing 89,256 inmates against a capacity of 76,475, Jail Administration Minister Dara Singh Chauhan revealed in the state Assembly today. Responding to SP MLA Rajendra Prasad Chaudhary during the Budget Session’s seventh day, Chauhan laid bare a 116.7% occupancy crisis gripping the prison system.
The numbers, current as of January 31, show a 12,781-inmate overhang—echoing a national overcrowding trend (118.5% per NCRB 2023). Chauhan outlined fixes: eight jails under construction will add 9,165 spaces, lifting capacity to 85,640 once finished. Another 16 jails across 15 districts, still in blueprint phase, promise 21,408 more spots—potentially hitting 107,048 total. Additional barracks in existing jails are also in the works to chip away at the gap, though no completion dates were pinned down.
A February 21 Sangam water rollout for Maha Kumbh pegged jail numbers “over 90,000,” suggesting a possible uptick since January. The Supreme Court’s 2024 nudge to stop fudging capacity stats looms large—UP’s been here before, and conditions like sanitation and food stretch thin under the load. Chauhan’s banking on infrastructure to ease the squeeze, but the math’s tight. Even with 9,165 new spots, jails stay overfull until the 16 others come online—no small feat given construction lags.
