Prisons in Tamil Nadu remain on top of other States when it comes to earnings through productivity. The State Prison Department earned Rs. 47.87 crore revenue in 2015, which is a good 22 per cent growth, compared to the previous year. The State was ranked fifth in the country in 2012 with an earning of Rs. 11.56 crore.
The consistent growth in earnings, according to prison officials, as reflected in the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau, was made possible due to the effective implementation of a comprehensive rehabilitation programme that included education, employment and healthcare.
Sales at ‘Freedom Bazaar’ that exclusively showcase prison produce across the State zoomed owing to the quality and variety of products. About 1,500 convicts were imparted training in various vocational courses last year. The prison industry includes agriculture, tailoring, bakery, handloom, carpentry and weaving among others. “The productivity per capita has gone up in prisons in the last two years. Besides offering quality education and employable courses, we are providing quality infrastructure for the inmates to work and earn. It is a team work, led by my predecessor J.K. Tripathy that made this achievement possible,” ADGP (Prisons) Vijay Kumar said.
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Among the 14,122 inmates, including convicts, under-trials and detenues, as on December 31, 2015, there were 968 graduates, 307 postgraduates and 443 others with technical/diploma certificates. Last year, 2,595 inmates were enrolled in elementary education, while 1,201 and 659 joined adult education and higher education courses respectively.
“At least, 900 prisoners joined computer courses. When it comes to prisoner rehabilitation, Tamil Nadu is again on top. We provided legal aid free of cost to 7,473 prisoners. The objective is to reform the inmates by providing education and employment so that they become employable on release and join the mainstream workforce of the society,” a prison official said.
The ‘Freedom Bazaar’ brand surprised many when it was displayed at the Global Investors Meet where multinational corporate companies showcased their might here last year.
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The annual budget of the Prison department, which manages 9 central prisons, three special prisons for women, district jails, borstal schools and sub jails among others, was Rs. 23.81 crore in 2015-16.