3 historic state prisons to be shifted out of city limits to free up land

Nagpur is one of two jails in the state (the other is Pune Jail) with operational gallows to hang convicts on death row. The last person to be hanged there was Yakub Memon.

Nagpur Central Prison, with a capacity of 1,940 inmates but currently housing about 4,000 and spread over 100 acres with 22,000 heritage trees, will be shifted to Chicholi village, 20 kilometres away. The government will retain the green area, while the rest will be opened to development. Several Nagpur politicians want the jail shifted to cash in on its real estate value.

Thane Central Prison, spread over 44 acres and housing about 4,000 inmates, will be moved to a 50-acre plot at Amane village near the entrance of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway. The plan to expand the jail and construct new quarters has been cancelled; eight barracks are being repaired. Thane Municipal Corporation has proposed a museum on the site.

A senior jail department officer said the government is keen to shift jails outside city limits to free jail land in prime areas for commercial exploitation, noting that laws require a minimum distance of 200 metres between prisons and other buildings and place height restrictions on new constructions.

Wardha Prison, established in 1845 by governor-general Lord Hardinge, originally a 15-acre historic facility with capacity for 252 prisoners and featuring a chapel and a hospital, will be shifted within Wardha city to a 100-acre plot in Injapur village about seven kilometres away, a decision taken last week.