Earned Wages

Manure in Tihar
(A leading daily)

New Delhi. Another novel experiment has started in Tihar Jail — manure from garbage, reports UNI.      The largest jail in Asia Pacific, which houses more than 8700 inmates produces 3000 kg of garbage daily, making disposal quite a costly task.     But no more. The inmates of the jail are not only turning garbage into rich manure, they are also marketing it, thus saving a massive amount of Rs 10.8 lakh annually which was earlier used for its removal.      The money generated from the sale of the manure of jail garbage  is deposited in the Prisoners Welfare Fund. Besides, the prisoners who manage garbage earn their wages as well.      About 40 prisoners have volunteered to take part in the exercise initiated by Mr K.C Shroff, Managing Director, Excel Industries, Bombay. These prisoners are getting vocational training in garbage management and financial incentives for their work. They get reduction in sentence for good conduct.      Inspector General of Prisons Kiran Bedi said on Saturday that the marketing of manure from garbage had started

weeks ago and encouraged by the response, she would soon order a technical feasibility study of producing electricity from garbage.      Bedi also plans to get in touch with voluntary organizations like Sulabh International to extract bio-gas from garbage before turning it into manure.     She would like to meet all the energy needs of the massive jail through non-conventional energy sources. The ‘bio-organic soil enricher’ converted mainly from horticulture and kitchen waste in the prison, is being bought by many nurseries in the capital, with the active help from Kitchen Garden Association of India.  ‘We are trying to expand our market and once the project goes full steam, it is expected to generate a return of over Rs 10 lakh per annum into Prisoners Welfare Fund’ Bedi said. The PWF money will be used for correctional measures, she added.      In a novel experiment, the five kg poly bags in which the manure is being marketed, are printed in bright red by juvenile delinquents who are undergoing vocational training inside the jail.      ‘It gives their morale a boost to see their work being put to use and actually being sold’ said Bedi.

At Tihar Inmates mean Business
(Economic Times, 2 April 1995)
By Sobha Menon

New Delhi April 1. A proposal to set up Delhi’s first fly-ash brick plant has come from the most unlikely quarters — the inmates of Tihar Jail. The plan has been sent to the power ministry by the India Vision Foundation, a trust which was set up at the jail shortly after Ms Kiran Bedi won the Magsaysay Award. The scheme awaits a sanction of Rs 3 lakh for the portable machines, to make the bricks, as well as for raw material such as lime.      The Director of the Institute for Solid Waste Research and Ecological Balance (INSWAREB) at Vishakapatnam, Mr N Kalidas, first mooted the idea and has offered technical assistance, according to DIG (Prisons) Mr Jaidev Sarangi.      The bricks will be bought by various government departments. The project will be both environment friendly and cheap as the main raw material it will use is fly-ash, a major pollutant produced by thermal power plants. It is expected that National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will supply the fly-ash.      A fortnight ago, India Vision Foundation also launched an agricultural project with the cooperation of the agricultural ministry. A green house was set up where a variety of ornamental plants, vegetables and fruits are being grown from very high quality hybrid seeds. The produce will be marketed by the agricultural ministry and the profits will be used for the welfare of the inmates.      The ministry has spent Rs 3 lakh for setting up the green house and provide high quality seeds of the hybrid variety, manure, pesticides and various other items. The ministry will also provide Rs 5 lakh every year for maintenance of the green house.      Mr Ved Prakash Garg, Deputy Superintendent of the prison, in whose name the green house has been christened ‘Garg Poly House’ and Dr Dewinder Kumar Uppal, Executive Director of the National Horticulture Board were instrumental in executing the project.      Tomato seeds costing Rs 3500 a kg is being used and each plant is expected to produce five to six kg of tomatoes. The cucumber patch prepared two weeks ago has Top...

already started bearing fruit and other plants are also expected to  yield soon. The inmates are also trying their hand at cultivating mushrooms and they are being assisted in this by a farming unit in Gurgaon. Other units which will be opened under the ‘Agro-industry’ project of Tihar Jail includes a refrigerated vegetable shop and a bee-keeping unit. The costs for setting up these projects will be borne by the agricultural ministry, which will take care of the marketing as well. The agro-industry’s first customer so far has been Rashtrapati Bhavan, which recently placed an order for Shyama Tulsi.     Tihar Jail’s inmates are already being provided school and college education. India Vision Foundation’s main aim is to provide vocational training for the inmates so that they can find jobs for themselves when they leave the jail. Since workers on the fly-ash project may not be able to use their skills when they leave the jail, the members of the foundation will also request the power ministry to set up a brick plant outside the jail.      The profits from the various projects will be used for jail reforms and the welfare of the inmates. And if the trust does well enough, its profits may be used for introducing schemes in other jails as well.      About three months ago, the jail set up a bakery, in Jail No. 2, called the India Vision Baking School, which turns out about 1000 loaves of bread every day. The bread is for the consumption of the inmates and is bought by the government at a cost of Rs 5.65 per 800 gram which is cheaper than the cost outside. ‘We are also saving the government’s money,’ Mr Sarangi said. The bakery also serves to train inmates in bread-making. The amount of Rs 1 lakh required for setting up this project was provided by the India Vision Foundation.      The book-binding school set up in the women’s ward about three weeks back has machines for training provided by Sohrab Publications. At present it’s aim is to merely provide jobs and training for inmates and is not profit-making. Work is provided by Sohrab Publications and it is hoped that when other publishers also join in to give jobs, each worker will be able to earn about Rs 1000 per month.