The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has asked the Prison Department of the City Government to pay Rs 6,03,44,062 for shifting prisoners from Tihar jail to the newly-constructed Mandoli prison without getting completion certificate from the civic agency, a senior EDMC officials said.
Confirming the move, EDMC Commissioner Ranbir Singh said a notice has been issued to the Prison Department for violating rules of building bylaws of the corporation.
“The EDMC has asked the Prison Department to pay pre-occupancy charges for “violation” of laid down norms,” he said.
Before constructing a building, the owner has to obtain an occupancy certificate that is also called completion certificate, he said.
“In case the owner start using the building without paying charges then s/he is liable to pay pre occupation charges as per building bye-laws,” he said.
Singh said he is sure that the Government will pay charges to avoid further action.
Around 3,000 inmates of Tihar Jail have been shifted to Mandoli prisons in East Delhi so far, sources in the Government said. According to information, the first batches of 50 prisoners were moved to Mandoli in December 2016.
Sources in the Government said a file pertaining to the issue had already been sent to the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain,who would take a final decision on the payment of pre-occupancy charges.
Prisoners were shifted to Mandoli as part of the Delhi Government’s plan to de-congest the over-crowded Tihar Jail which currently houses around 10,500 inmates against the capacity of 7,000, the official said.
Mandoli Jail is mandated to accommodate around 3,700 prisoners. It has six prisons.
In April this year, Jain had said the Delhi Government was planning to re-develop single-storey buildings of Tihar Jail into four-storey ones to decongest the central jail.
Besides, the move will also provide sufficient playgrounds for inmates of the high-security jails, the Minster had said.