Haryana govt plans 11 fuel stations outside state jails to be run by jail inmates
The Haryana government is planning to set up fuel stations in outer premises of 11 jails in Haryana on the pattern of similar fuel stations in Telangana. The first such fuel station for outsiders in the outer premises of its Kurukshetra jail became operational from May 31.
Run by jail inmates, this “jail filling station” is part of the state’s plan to set up such fuel stations in ten more jails after drawing lessons from running the current one, reports The Indian Express.
After Kurukshetra, similar fuel stations will be operated from the jails of Ambala (two fuel stations), Yamunanagar, Karnal, Jhajjar, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Bhiwani, Jind and Hisar.
These stations are being set up in association with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
Pilot project encouraging
The newly opened fuel station at Kurukshetra jail — a pilot project — is situated on the Pipli-Kurukshetra road. According to Kurukshetra jail superintendent Som Nath Jagat, currently the fuel station is operated from 8 am to 7 pm with a daily sale of nearly Rs 4 lakh. “We have plans to operate it from 6 am to 11 pm while taking the daily sale to Rs 8 lakh. During early hours and then late in the evening, the fuel station will be operated by jail staffers because the rules mandates that the prisoner should be in the jail by 7:30 pm,” he said, adding, “the results are encouraging.”
Only convicted prisoners with good conduct and those who have spent a considerable period in the jails in proportion to their jail term will be allowed to work at the fuel stations. Undertrials are not allowed to work here.
“The jailer would initially ensure that training is imparted to the prisoners for these jail filling stations and thereafter their duty would be on rotation basis subject to their behaviour,” Haryana state jails minister Ranjit Singh Chautala told mediapersons in Chandigarh.
A step towards rehabilitation
According to Chautala, the objective of the scheme is to make prisoners a part of the society. “When people will come to these filling stations, they will see that the prisoners can also work like common people. A message has to go out that prisoners can be reformed and rehabilitated. The Haryana government is making efforts in this direction,” he said.
For working at the fuel stations, the prisoners will get wages in accordance with the jail manual. The profit from these fuel stations will be deposited in the Prison Welfare Industrial Fund to be used for the welfare of prisoners.
Also read: Sentenced words: Prison literature in TN recounts jail life, inner turmoil
