With Rs 46,200 a year, prisoners in state paid highest in country

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 18

Himachal has set a record in providing jobs to jail inmates and the average income of the prisoners is Rs 46,200 annually, which is the highest in the country.

To further increase the employment opportunities for them, prisons are being opened in industrial areas and first such jail is coming up at Nalagarh in Solan district. The new jail can lodge 100-200 inmates and there is proposal to open another jail at Nurpur, said DGP, Prisons and Correctional Services, Somesh Goyal while talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the national conference on positive engagement of inmates in prisons.

“We have talked to industrialists to enable the inmates to learn skills and get employment. The idea is to have jails at places where they could get jobs,” he said.

The Prisons Department is manufacturing high-quality clothing, bakery products and furniture and a significant number of inmates are going out to work in hotels and industries under the “Har Hath Ko Kaam” and the turnover of prisons was Rs 3.6 crore in 2018-19 and wages to the tune of Rs 1.2 crore were paid to the prisoners.

FACT FILE

2,450 Total prisoners | 87 Women inmates | 1,371 Rehabilitated |  1,989 Given financial aid | 80% Have passed XII | 80% Are from rural areas | 43% Aged 18-30 yrs | 44% Aged 30-50 yrs