THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Open Prison at Nettukalthery is all set to give a boost to government’s ambitious LIFE Mission which aims at providing dwellings to the homeless.Jail Reforms Commission chairman and former DGP Alexander Jacob has recommended to the government to restart the compressed earth block unit in the prison.
Compressed earth block is an alternative to the common clay brick used for construction activities. In this damp soil is compressed with 10 per cent cement and the brick is as strong as a clay one. The cost-effective brick became quite popular in short time but the production was stopped sometime after Alexander Jacob quit the department.
It is learnt that government will approve the recommendation of Jacob to restart the unit. “I’ve cited in the report that bricks at cheaper rates can be supplied to the EMS and MN Housing schemes of the government. In some places shortage of raw material has affected these housing projects for the poor,” Jacob told ‘Express’.
He has also recommended to restart the interlocking cement brick unit in the prison. These bricks would also be supplied to housing schemes for the poor. Jacob’s report says brick units, together, would fetch Rs 2 crore annual revenue to the department besides serving the noble purpose of social uplifting.
Medicinal plant garden
Commission report has also recommended for restarting the medicinal plant farming in the jail. The farming was started in 2011 in association with leading Ayurveda drug manufacturers during Jacob’s tenure as Prisons DGP.
Manufacturers like Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala and Vaidyamadham had association with the Prisons Department’s medicinal plant farming. The project, if revamped, will earn Rs 2 crore annual income, Jacob’s report said. “Drug manufacturers used to supply high quality saplings and we would sell the plants to them for handsome returns. The jail has special equipment like the one to extract essence for some plant species,” Alexander Jacob said.