Himachal prisons operate 30 pc above capacity, CM Sukhu tells Assembly

Himachal Pradesh's prisons are operating nearly 30 per cent above their sanctioned capacity, with 3,355 inmates lodged across 14 jails against a capacity of 2,580, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informed the state Assembly on Monday, August 24.

The figures, provided in a written reply to Congress MLA Keval Singh Pathania, show that the state's prisons are accommodating 775 more inmates than their approved capacity.

Of the total inmates, 1,113 are convicts, 2,203 are undertrials and 39 are civil or preventive detainees, Sukhu said.

The overcrowding is particularly pronounced at some of the state's major prisons. The Model Central Jail in Nahan has 553 inmates against a capacity of 471, while the Model Central Jail at Kanda in Shimla houses 530 prisoners against a sanctioned capacity of 438.

The District and Open Home at Dharamshala is also significantly over capacity, with 552 inmates against an approved strength of just 355.

Responding to questions on prison infrastructure, Sukhu said convicts booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cannot be shifted to open-air jails under the existing provisions.

On a proposal to establish a dedicated high-security prison in the state, the government said a decision would be taken at an appropriate time.

The chief minister also informed the House that 84,162 cancer patients had visited government and private Ayurvedic medical colleges and hospitals in Himachal Pradesh between January 2023 and August 10, 2026.

The state recorded 2,380 cancer patients in 2023, 2,443 in 2024 and 744 in 2025, the government said.

In another reply, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said Himachal Pradesh was yet to receive the Rs 1,500 crore financial assistance announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last year for people affected by floods and heavy rains.

"So far, not a single penny of this amount has been received," Negi said.

The government also clarified that it had not issued any notification directing officials to record "Hindu Gujjar" instead of "Gujjar". However, instances of such entries had been reported at various district and tehsil levels, with authorities collecting further information on the matter.