Bhubaneswar: In order to improve inmate welfare and correctional services, the state plans to establish de-addiction centres inside prisons and a dedicated mental health institute at Choudwar jail in Kataka soon, Chief Secretary Anu Garg said Tuesday. Garg chaired a review meeting of the Prison Development Board (PDB), assessed the security and prison reform measures undertaken by the Prison Directorate over the past years. The meeting was attended by nine departmental secretaries and the Director General of Prisons and Director of Correctional Services.
Odisha has launched a series of initiatives to strengthen security across prisons in the state, including installation of AI-enabled CCTV surveillance systems, deployment of modern security equipment, and enhancement of prison infrastructure. As part of the security upgrade, AI camera-based CCTV systems with video analytics have already been installed in 20 jails. The government is also strengthening prison perimeter security by raising the height of boundary walls, installing concertina wire, and undertaking other security-related infrastructure projects. To further enhance surveillance and monitoring, prisons have been equipped with modern security devices such as drones, body-worn cameras, handheld metal detectors (HHMDs), door frame metal detectors (DFMDs), deep search metal detectors, and non-linear junction detectors to detect concealed mobile phones and electronic devices. The Prison Directorate has also established prison intelligence units in jails and increased the deployment of convicted inmates for internal security duties. Telephone facilities for inmates are now being strictly regulated in accordance with the Prison Manual, limiting prisoners to two calls of four minutes each per week. The meeting also reviewed initiatives aimed at improving inmates’ welfare, rehabilitation and reintegration into society after their release.
As part of these efforts, dedicated yoga trainers have been appointed in all 74 jails, while mental health counsellors have been engaged in 36 prisons to provide psychological support to inmates. A special statewide drive has also been launched to trace and apprehend escaped prisoners as well as parole and furlough jumpers who have been absconding since 2000.
The board was informed that under a special educational initiative during 2025-26, as many as 218 inmates successfully completed academic programmes ranging from matriculation to postgraduate level through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and Odisha State Open University (OSOU). The meeting further reviewed ongoing infrastructure projects, including the construction of new model prisons at Bhubaneswar, Jajpur and Bhadrak.
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