23 March,2011 06:42 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
After a series of assurances, state government finally agrees to double wages and offer more job opportunity to inmates of Central prisonu00a0
Inmates of the Central prison have a reason to rejoice as the state government has doubled their daily wage amount from the existing package. According to senior officials, inmates have been demanding this hike for a long time, claiming that the existing package was insufficient. After several proposals to the government and a series of assurances, the government agreed to double their wages. As per the new scheme, unskilled inmates would get Rs 70 per day against the previous Rs 35 per day. Likewise, skilled and highly skilled inmates would receive Rs 80 and Rs 90 per day, against Rs 40 and Rs 45. This scheme is implemented under the idea 'equal wage for equal work'.
Double the happiness: Unskilled inmates would now get Rs 70 per
day against the previous Rs 35 per day. Likewise, skilled and highly
skilled inmates would receive Rs 80 and Rs 90 per day, against Rs 40
and Rs 45. File pic
More money
This means the an inmate could manage to save about Rs 30 to Rs 50 per day, as the orders mention deductions of Rs 40 from individual's wages towards the food and clothing allowance, which is being provided by the government.
ADG of Police (prisons) K Srinivasan said that the idea behind the move is that every inmate lodged in the prison should earn his own bread. "By providing them employment, the department is helping them to earn for their basic needs," he said. Srinivasan added that they have taken into consideration the minimum wages paid to daily wage workers outside prison.
However, Srinivasan said that with enhancement of daily wages, the department would face problems in generating jobs for inmates.
New job profiles
He said, "Schemes like carpentry, weaving and candle making are outdated. We need new job profiles, and we have asked the government to think about generating employment." Meanwhile, Srinivas said that the department is keen on cultivating agricultural produce for day-to-day use. "This would not only make the prison department self-sufficient, but could also generate profit from the process if excess produce is sold in the open market. The central prison has already started cultivating vegetables and greens as a pilot project and the results so far are good. Enhancement of the project could not only generate profits, but also offer more job opportunities for inmates," he added.
Divide and rule!
Officials of the Central prison have proposed to divide the prison complex into five segments to facilitate better management. Situated on 149 acres of land, the jail will be divided further into five jails, wherein two will be for convicts, two for under trails and one exclusively for women inmates.
Srinivasan said, "The idea behind the move is to streamline, discipline and for surveillance, which is an area of grave concern right now." Of the 4,500 prisoners in Bangalore Central jail, 40 per cent are convicts. Going by statistics, Central jail is overcrowded and accommodates 150 per cent more prisoners than capacity. This makes administration of daily operations in the prison difficult.
"Several problems are on the rise resulting from mixing up of convicts and under trials, including women inmates reporting harassment by male inmates and under trails alleging sexual harassment by convicts," he added.
Besides, first-time offenders are influenced by habitual lawbreakers to smuggle drugs, weapons and mobile phones into the prison. Despite several incidents occurring, no one has filed a formal complaint so far, fearing severe consequences, said Srinivasan
Guidelines
'Minimum working shift for inmates should be eight hours
'Unskilled inmates should be promoted to skilled inmates after a period of six months
'There will be no gender discrimination in terms of issuing daily wages
'The revised daily wage pay scale will be in place for a period of three years. It should be revised soon after expiry of the term
