Assam Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Pijush Hazarika has directed proprietors of private rehabilitation centres to provide inmates with basic amenities like sanitary living conditions and regular medical check-ups within three months.
He also considered skill training for reformed convicts from such facilities at government expense.
Appalled by the conditions of a private rehabilitation centre in Guwahati that he visited last week, the minister met with owners of such facilities and relevant authorities here on Saturday to discuss the issues plaguing these facilities.
At the meeting, the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister issued severe instructions to the proprietors to guarantee that the convicts get the bare necessities.
“I understand that the facilities cannot be provided overnight. Hence, we are giving them time of three months. If they fail to ensure these facilities at the end of the time frame, those centres will have to be closed down,” Hazarika stated.
He also advised the centre operators not to close down too quickly in response to the government decision, since this would put the inmates in jeopardy.
“If any centre has to be closed down after three months, the inmates will be provided accommodation at government-run facilities,” the minister stated.
Hazarika also proposed skill training for reformed inmates, saying he will propose funding for 1,000 such people in next year’s state budget. Accommodation for up to four people in a normal-sized room, one bathroom for every 5 to 7 offenders, decent meals, and frequent health checks are among the amenities to be provided.
Hazarika also supported a system of obtaining approval from the Health Department and the local municipal corporation before establishing any rehab centre. At the meeting, a committee composed of officials from stakeholder departments and eight rehabilitation centre owners was formed to prepare a report on a policy for providing approval to such centres. The report will be completed in two months.
Top authorities from the Health Department, the Police Department, and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation also attended the conference.