No land for central jail

SHILLONG: The Prisons Department is still looking for land to construct a central jail in Shillong.
An official in the department said the proposal to construct a central jail is not making progress since they could not find a land.
The Urban Affairs Department had earlier refused to provide land at Mawdiangdiang for the proposed jail despite overcrowding of Shillong prison on Jail Road.
The official also informed that congestion in the existing district jail will reduce after the Nongstoin district prison is complete. Many prisoners from Nongstoin are lodged in Shillong jail.
“The work for completion of the Nongstoin district jail will take around six months to a year,” the official said.
The government had earmarked Rs 6.25 crore on December 20, 2003, for construction of the Nongstoin district jail over 10.35 acres of land in Photkynthei and it was scheduled to be completed in five years’ time, but work was delayed.
There were around 360 prisoners in Shillong district jail at the end of August as against its capacity of 170.