The budget allocated to the Prison Hospital for the ongoing fiscal year by the Department of Prison Management (DoPM) is Rs 7 million, which has already been used up. The hospital has demanded additional Rs 11 million for the current fiscal year. The government should immediately release the amount. The DoPM and the Ministry of Health and Population should come to the rescue of the inmates at once.
It is the responsibility of every state to give protection and ensure basic facilities to the inmates. The topmost in this matter is the health of the prisoners, especially those who suffer from life-threatening diseases. The inmates as it is already face lack of basic necessities and are living under most unhygienic health conditions in our prisons. It does not cost the state coffer huge amount of money to keep the prisons clean and to allocate some funds for the health facilities of the inmates.
It is also time that the government gave serious thought to introducing prison reforms in Nepal so that some standards are maintained. The 1963 Prison Act and Rules are also seriously outdated principally because of their punitive focus and their lack of any reformatory provisions. It is silent on facilities to be provided to the inmates. Studies have already shown that most of Nepal’s prisons are in a very poor condition with inadequate facilities with the Tarai prisons suffering from serious overcrowding. The prisons are run under an outdated legal framework and governments have given little attention to improving their management. Prison riots of December 2000 and January 2001, which were sparked by the poor conditions and lack of any complaint mechanism for prisoners, have highlighted the need for a prison reform. Initiating such a reform will be a step worth taking for the country.
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