Jail
inmates to make automobile parts
Spread across 2,000 sq ft, the facility will see 30 inmates
working to produce wire harness units, which are key automotive components. The
harnesses will be supplied to Mahindra & Mahindra for further assembly in
utility vehicles. The facility aims to empower inmates so that they can pick up
employment skills to improve their employability, earn wages, and use their
experience to lead a better life after their sentence ends, explained BK
Upadhyay, additional director general (prisons). "Until now, traditional
small-scale manufacturing units for carpentry, baking, laundry, washing,
handloom work and metal products were set up at Yerawada jail. This is a great
step forward and the initiative is in line with contemporary manufacturing
industry.”
“We are looking to set up similar manufacturing units to aid
inmates in jails across the state," Upadhyay added. Another facility will
be set up at Nagpur Central Jail by December. Each inmate, working with the
manufacturing unit, will get a certificate that is expected to help him or her
land a job once the prisoner finishes the sentence and is out of the jail. The
wire harness product will fetch Rs 200, per unit, of which each inmate will get
Rs 55, per piece and Rs 10 will go towards the welfare fund. The rest of the
money will go to the state exchequer. As of now, the manufacturing facility has
the capacity to make 80 units, per day. Upadhyay said that the inmates will be
selected to be employed by the unit on the basis of their track record, the
number of years they have served their sentence as well as their educational
background.
"An essential criterion for selection is a minimum
seven-year conviction. All selected inmates will be provided training. As per
norms laid out for operators working in the wire harness manufacturing units,
and in addition to preliminary tests, a test for colour blindness will also be
conducted," said NK Taneja, group chief marketing officer, Spark Minda,
Ashok Minda group. For the next two months, a supervisor from the company will
help the team at the prison settle into their job profile. To ensure quality
check, a checker board has been put up in the unit and a visual inspection will
be done before dispatch. Spark Minda will oversee raw material entry and
dispatch, whose employees have been deputed at the jail. This is expected to
ensure security and discipline.
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