Delhi government to relocate Tihar jail, allocates Rs 10 crore for survey

Tihar Jail

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday announced plans to relocate Tihar Jail to the city’s outskirts and allocated Rs 10 crore for survey and consultancy services for the same in the budget for 2025-26.

The decision stems from safety concerns due to the jail's proximity to residential areas. Established in 1958, Tihar Jail is one of the largest prison complexes in India, comprising nine central prisons spread over more than 400 acres.

Tihar Jail, officially known as Tihar Prisons, is India’s largest and most high-security prison complex, located in Delhi. Tihar Jail houses gangsters, politicians and even VIPs. The jail was started with a capacity to house 1,273 prisoners which has been increased to 5,000-6,000. However, the jail houses over 13,000 inmates, an Indian Express report said.

Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented Budget 2025-26 in the state Assembly, saying that it has ten focus areas including infrastructure development, electricity, roads, and water. This year's budget, of Rs 1 lakh crore, has been upped by 31.5 per cent from the previous. Stating the days of "corruption and inefficiency" are over, Gupta announced that the capital expenditure budget has been doubled to Rs 28,000 crore.

While presenting the Budget in the state assembly, CM Gupta termed it as a "historic budget" of the Delhi government. "This is not an ordinary Budget, this Budget is the first step to develop Delhi which was ruined in the past 10 years. Delhi went down in every aspect of development in the past decade. The previous government ruined the economic health of the national capital like termites," said Gupta, who also holds the Finance portfolio.