Punjab Prisons Development Board Act 2020


The State of Punjab has a total of 24 Prisons (09 Central Jails, 06 District Jails, 04 Special Jails and 05 Sub-Jails) with an authorized prison population of 23,488. The prison department is mandated to gainfully employ all convicts with the purpose of providing them a source of livelihood and imparting skills for making them employable upon release. Also, correction (reform, rehabilitation and re-integration) is an important role of the prison administration.
The Punjab Prisons Development Board has been constituted as a statutory body under the Chairmanship of the hon’ble Chief Minister Punjab, under the aegis of which all commercial activities, most of the reform efforts, and welfare measures for prisoners and prison staff shall be under-taken.

The basic focus of activities of the Board are ‘Discipline and corrections in jails and enhancement in security of prisons’. The functions of the Board are as follows:

(a) reduce the financial liability of the Government exchequer by identifying new means of revenue generation;

(b) undertake programs or schemes of treatment of prisoners, inter alia, education, vocational or industrial training, manufacturing activities, agriculture, poultry, dairy/fish farming, horticulture, etc;

(c) enhance the living conditions of the prisoners;

(d) to reform and re-assimilate prisoners in the social milieu by giving them appropriate correctional treatment;

(e) provide resources for efficient management of prisons, e.g., by way of acquisition of assets, whether movable or immovable, including computers, communication facilities, gadgets, vehicles, security or surveillance equipment, electronic video linkage systems etc.;

(f) to ensure the welfare of the officers and employees of the Department of Prisons and the Board.