Most developed countries have a standing policy of ensuring that jails do not exist within city limits.
Most developed countries have a standing policy of ensuring that jails do not exist within city limits.
Likewise, they also ensure that military establishments are always located outside city limits, preferably in a military campus miles away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life that most civilians encounter.
The logic behind both practices is simply that civilian life should not be allowed to either corrupt or get corrupted by such establishments.
Jails within city limits affect the security and culture of a vibrant city.
And civilian life tends to corrupt (and soften) the stark regimented lifestyle that is meant for active-on-duty staff.
Undoubtedly, civilian population gradually settles down near any official complex — be it jails or defence cantonments. That is what happened to the Arthur Road jail that was on the outskirts of the island city some 150 years ago.
Ditto for military cantonments like Kirkee, near Pune. But having, and enforcing, such a relocation policy allows authorities to decide when it would be ripe to monetise the value of land of the jail complex or the military cantonment (which has now become part of the city), and set up similar or even significantly better facilities in another location, without any loss to the exchequer.
In the case of the Arthur Road jail, for instance, there is no reason why the civic authorities cannot announce an open tender, inviting bids from developers, for taking up the entire area that the jail occupies, and give away the land to the highest bidder. In order to ensure that there is no disruption of law and order related activities, a better way would be to create a master plan of what a new and modern jail complex should be like, complete with provision of a trial court, leased residences for jail, court and other security staff. Even a school could be constructed with living quarters for teachers who could come there on three-month-long sabbatical trips to this area. This could become part of any government employed teacher’s responsibility.
Ideally, a 100-metre no-man’s-land security buffer could also be provided along the perimeter of the jail complex being newly designed.
It must also budget for expansion. So, acquiring around 500 acres of barren land, some 200-300km away from Mumbai would be immensely feasible.
Once the plan is ready, and the land acquired by the government, the state should auction the Arthur Road jail property to the highest bidder who would (as a pre-condition) first undertake to build the new jail premises, and then take over the existing land where the jail is located.
This way, a new, larger, better designed jail will be ready even before the existing jail is handed over to for real estate development. It would also leave the state with surplus funds to build a few more better designed jails.
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