VELLORE: In a bid to reduce procurement costs and graft while ensuring quality, the Tamil Nadu Prison Department has launched a self-sustainable poultry farming initiative. Implementation of the programme at nine central prisons, including special women’s central prisons, began in December. The initiative is projected to save the department up to `10 crore annually.
According to the prison manual, each prison inmate is entitled to receive 300gm of skinless, boneless chicken twice a week. TN’s prisons, including sub-jails, house approximately 22,000 inmates. Prison officials told TNIE than 15,000 chickens were required for every 1,000 prisoners. While the chicken was earlier procured from external suppliers, the in-house production system is expected to ensure cost efficiency and improved quality.
“The total project cost is `18 lakh. This initiative not only helps the department achieve self-sustainability but also ensures inmates are served healthier chicken of better quality,” a senior prison official said. The newly-established poultry farms have been scaled according to the capacity of each prison to meet the inmates’ needs.
The Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tirunelveli is the first to have tried poultry farming but to sell the chicken in the prison market. That model has been adapted now for in-house consumption. “Not all central prisons have fully functional poultry farms yet. However, by January, proper sheds and infrastructure will be set up in all of them,” an official source said.
Prisons Department DGP Maheshwara Dayal told TNIE that the initiative will yield full-fledged results by April. “Making the system self-sustainable will have significant long-term benefits,” he said. “Since the poultry farms are being set up inside prison premises, we consulted with Tamil Nadu veterinary officials, who assured us that they will not pose any health risks to the inmates. A government veterinary doctor regularly checks the poultry to ensure their health and the safety of the meat.”
Sources said that this initiative also tackles corruption issues linked to the earlier procurement process. In the past, irregularities in tender billing and the illegal diversion of chicken for external sale were reported. One specific method of corruption involved the purchase of lower-quality, thinner chickens while billing the department for meatier, more expensive poultry. By rearing chicken at the prisons, the department now will be able to exercise control over the resources, minimising the scope for misuse and ensuring that funds are used appropriately.