State Minister of Prisons Anuradha Jayaratne said that the government spends about 3.9 billion rupees annually on the food of the inmates, and the most serious problem faced by the department at present is the lack of space in the prisons.
He said that the existing prisons have a capacity of 13,000, but there are almost 29,000 inmates, and to reduce this situation, attention has been paid to the possibility of amending the Civil Offenders Bail Act and placing them under house arrest. He said that since the report of the Yasanta Kodagoda Committee appointed to look into the matter has been received, the relevant draft laws are expected to be submitted to the Parliament as soon as possible.
State Minister of Justice and Prisons, Anuradha Jayaratne, expressed these views while attending the news conference held at the Presidential Media Center on the theme ‘One way to a stable country’.