The government has sanctioned Rs 7.04 crore for the computerisation of all the 56 jails, including eight central prisons, in the state.
The project evaluation committee of the State Informatics Centre, New Delhi, has approved the scheme under which all the jails in Bihar — eight central, 32 divisional and 16 sub-divisional — would be provided with computers for maintaining digital records of prison management and the prisoners lodged in these institutions.
Inspector-general (prisons and correctional services) Anand Kishor said the prison system has been developed for the project, which is the first of its kind in the country. “Christened “e-prison”, it would be completed during the 2013-14 financial year,” he added.
Kishor said the basis of electronic records in the prison system are the PMS (prisons management system) and VMS (visitor management system), which has been developed by the e-prisons division at National Informatics Centre, New Delhi. “The system was introduced at the Beur Central Jail in Patna as a pilot project earlier.”
He said: “Eight major modules such as online visitors’ appointment, stock management, gate management, prisoners’ wage management, hospital management, prison accounts management and arms and ammunition management have been developed by the e-prisons group of Bihar.”
“The database of the visitors would have their photos, fingerprints, addresses, identification cards and other information, which might be used in detection of crime. They would also help establish co-ordination among the prison administration, police and the judiciary,” Kishor added.
Sources in the prison department said eight central jails would be provided with six computers each. Four computers would be installed in the 32 divisional jails each and all the 16 sub-divisional jails would get three computers.
Of the Rs 7.04 crore sanctioned for the project, Rs 487.33 crore would be spent on installation of the computers and related work.
The remaining has been earmarked for payment of salary of 236 data-entry operators to be appointed.
