Pulhal Central Prison is a central prison complex located in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
(
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
),
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. It is about 23 km from the city centre. The prison became operational from 2006 replacing the erstwhile
Chennai Central Prison.
Construction
The plan for the construction of Pulhal prison was conceived during the early 2000s. Sites in
Pulhal and in
Maraimalai Nagar
Maraimalai Nagar is a satellite town of Chennai, Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a municipality town in Chengalpattu district. It lies in the southern part of the Chennai metropolitan area around 50 km from downtown Chennai ...
were initially considered, and the final decision to construct at Pulhal was made due to the availability of large parcel of government-owned land. It was constructed by Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNPHC) for a cost of 1,770 million in less than 3 years. It was inaugurated by then chief minister of Tamil Nadu,
M. Karunanidhi, on 26 November 2006.
Structure and facilities
It is among the largest prison complexes in India.
The prison complex occupies an area corresponding to . It comprises three complexes of buildings: Pulhal Prison I for convicts, Pulhal Prison II for remand prisoners and Special Prison for women. A separate enclosure houses civil debtor convicts as well. It has a quarantine to segregate new entrants till medical examination is completed.
The facilities include cells and dormitories with windows, lavatories with doors, meditation hall, library, amphit