KOCHI: The Prison Department has decided to strictly monitor the sale of chapatis and curries at various jails in the state. This has been decided following irregularities were found in the accounts of the profit received from sale of food products from jails.
According to officials with the Prison Department, ADGP T P Zen Kumar, who is currently the director general of Prisons and Correctional Services, has found irregularities and has ordered strict auditing over the expenditure and profit gained from the sale of food products.
“In some of prisons, the account on the expenditure and profit was exaggerated. The amount of raw materials purchased and the quantity of food products sold and profit gained from it did not tally. Considering this, a report about the sale of food products over a year has been sought from the superintendents of jails for auditing,” sources said.
Speaking on the matter, T P Zen Kumar said that directions have been given to the jails to produce food products only as per demand. “It was found that in several jails food products are prepared more than of required quantity. This causes loss of revenue for the department. Considering this, directions have been given to produce food products only according to demand,” He said.
He said that jail chapati and other food products are becoming popular. “If you look at District Jail in Ernakulam, several parents purchase chapati and curry for packing it as lunch for their children. We have no plans for such a good venture,” He said.
Prison food gained impressive profit by earning more than `10 crore in the last financial year. Currently, chapati and curries are produced at six jails in the state - three of them central prisons in Thrissur, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram and three district jails, in Kollam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. As per available data, on an average 1.12 lakh chapatis prepared in jails are sold on a daily basis.