Bhubaneswar: The State Government will set up 21 sub-jails in the State to solve the overcrowding of the main jails. In this connection Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in the Assembly on Monday the scheduled capacity of all the jails functioning in the State taken together was 9,125.

As on October 31, 2006 there were 15, 489 prisoners in these jails. Of these 2,877 were serving life sentences. Several steps have been taken by the Government to bring these prisoners into the mainstream of society after their release such as facilities for higher education and vocational education including computer training for the inmates and introduction of industrial training in different trades for the inmates. A co-operative society has been formed for prisoners in the Biju Patnaik Open Air Ashram for carpet weaving, involving prisoners in agricultural and horticultural activities including medicinal plantation, spiritual training yoga and visit to places of worship and revision of home loans and loans for self-employment of poor and eligible prisoners , Patnaik added.