Jail inmates to be equipped with skills for employment

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 1

New modern jail coming up at Derowal (Nalagarh) will usher in a new era of prosperity for jail inmates. They will be imparted training and equipped with skills increasing chances of their employability or launching self-employment ventures after they complete their sentence.

“The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) being a major industrial hub of the state, we will tie up with the industries to impart skill development training to the inmates as per the need of the industry”, said Director General, Prisoners, Somesh Goyal.

The idea is to tie up with private Industries to set up their units in the jail for utilising the skills and imparting vocational training to prisoners for generating additional income or allow them to work in industrial units, he said adding that the prisoners equipped with skills would be employed in these units, enabling them to earn additional wages.

This would help them in earning the livelihood in a dignified manner.

About 60 per cent of the inmates are undertrials and 40 per cent are convicts out of which 10 per cent are lodged in open jails. “We have open jails in Bilaspur and Kanda but the purpose of open jail would only be served if it is close to the industry. To make skill development facilities accessible we will shift prisoners of other jails to Nalagarh open jail in future”, he added.

At present about 2,100 prisoners are lodged in jails against the capacity of 1,732 but the situation would improve after jails are opened in Kullu, Mandi, Rampur and Nalagarh, creating space for 700 more prisoners. The process of transfer of land for the Kullu and Mandi jails had been completed and building plans will be completed within a month. For Rampur jail 52 bighas of land had been identified in Nalagarh and the case has been sent to the government for transfer of land.