Plans to send inmates halfway home

HYDERABAD:  The state prisons department’s plans to raise business turnover to Rs500 crore in the next fiscal through various manufacturing and service activities like running fuel pumps at jails, if fructify, will help build ‘halfway houses’ for prisoners, apart from renovating 23 closed sub-jails in the state. The department has sent proposals to the home ministry for halfway houses at the two open prisons in the state.A halfway house is meant to allow inmates of open-air prisons spend time with their families for a week a couple of times in a year within the prison premises.The proposal is pending with the state home ministry for the last three years, said B Sunil Kumar, additional inspector-general (prisons). “We will raise enough money for the halfway houses and ask permission again,” he added.In 2008, the department had come up with the proposal of halfway houses for the benefit of prisoners and asked the home ministry for funds. But the programme was put on hold for want of fund allocation.‘’I am sure home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy will agree if we have the financial sources,” he said. He added the prisons department is also looking for sponsors to fund construction of halfway houses.There are two open-air prisons in the state, at Cherlapally and Anantapur. At both the prisons, there are about 277 inmates. Open-air prison inmates are mostly life convicts. They have been sent there by the seven central prisons in the state for their good conduct. There are also some set to be released in a couple of years.With halfway houses, the prisoners will get a chance to spend time with their families for a week for a couple of times in a year. “The proposal will be modified according to suggestions of experts and work will be taken up in two phases,” said Sunil Kumar.Rajasthan already has halfway houses at its open-air prisons.