Jail inmates likely to work in car wash, petrol pump

The Thane jail authority has made a proposal to the state government for setting up of a petrol pump and a car wash in its open prison spread across 24 acres land where at present 24 murder convicts, all elderly male prisoners, are engaged in farming.

The prison authority is also in talks with government-owned oil companies to set up the fuel dispensing unit. If the proposal is accepted, the petrol pump and car wash will be set up on the road facing area of Thane open prison and eight out of the 24 murder convicts, currently cultivating jail land, will man the project.

However, the jail guards will collect the cash.

The inmates under the lesser supervision are brought to the open jail.

“Our main aim is to reform the inmates. Good behaviour prisoners are brought to the open jail. The punishment of these prisoners are reduced on basis of good conduct. So far, 24 inmates, mostly murder convicts serving long prison terms, are working on farmland of our open jail. If our project is approved, these inmates will get an opportunity to interact with the public. Working at petrol pump of our jail will help inmates to improve their mental and physical well-being," Thane jail superintendent Nitin Vayachal said.

At present, the inmates working in the open jail are involved in farm production from sowing to reaping. With the help of one tractor and 18 cattle, the inmates of Thane open jail are cultivating the land to produce organic vegetables, leafy vegetables and food grains such as paddy during the rainy season.

Agriculture is being mainly used as a method to reform and rehabilitate the convicts besides keeping them gainfully employed during their confinement. The convicts gain knowledge and experience which they can use once they are released.

The open jail for reformed prisoners at Thane was started three years ago. In Maharashtra, there are other jails including at Yerwada, Paithan, Kolhapur and Visapur which have started open jails for prisoners having good conduct.

In Maharashtra, 28 prisons have 802.03 hectares of land area, out of which 326.83 hectares area (40.75%) is agricultural land. Of the available agricultural land, nearly 57% i.e. 186.52 hectares land is under irrigation, while the remaining 140.31 hectares land is rain-fed.

In 2014-15, income generated from agriculture in prisons was Rs. 3.34 crores as against an expenditure of Rs. 1.63 crores, resulting in a net profit of Rs. 1.71 crores. On the basis of income generated from agriculture during 2013-14, the efforts taken up by Paithan Open Jail were worth noteworthy.