Brickmaking helps prisoners earn, learn for a better future

There is little that we know about living in a prison that does not come from films or from accounts of popular figures who have had a stint in jail. But, what really goes on behind the prison walls? Do prisoners spend all their time whiling away behind the bars?

Turns out, lives of prisoners can get quite industrious as they are involved in different trades while serving their sentence to learn some craft to help them earn their livelihood once they are released. And, what’s more, inmates are also paid for their services. Some of them can even earn up to Rs 1 lakh a year by working with Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNPHC) to build bricks and pavement blocks. Some of them are also employed for construction work.

Entrusted to construct all buildings related to the Police Department since 1991, TNPHC has been building police quarters, police stations and offices for senior officials and constantly procure raw materials, including bricks and pavement blocks, from the market.

The corporation made use of industrial waste such as fly ash, quarry dust, graphite waste and copper slag to make construction materials like bricks. Helping them in this endeavour are the state prisons whose inmates form the manpower for the work.

M Kumar, chief engineer of TNPHC said, “We decided to use this activity as an opportunity to reform prison inmates. We employed them to make bricks and pavement blocks.” He said that the machinery and raw materials are provided by the TNPHC and added that the construction materials produced in prisons are better in quality and are used in all the construction works undertaken by the TNPHC.

Explaining how prisoners end up making money from this venture, DIG R Kanagaraj (Prisons), said that while skilled prison inmates are paid up to Rs 200 per day for working in various industries run by the department, TNPHC pays Re 1 for each pavement block and fly ash brick made by them. "Each inmate makes about 300 bricks per day and so, in a year they end up earning about Rs 1 lakh,” said Kanagaraj.

Although semi-automatic brick manufacturing units have been installed in five central prisons including Madurai, Palayamkottai and Puzhal, at least 100 inmates are involved in producing bricks. "The prison department has a screening process and selects inmates who have had a good conduct to be trained for this industry,” said Kumar.

He added, “Most of the convicts are not seasoned criminals and would have ended up in prison due to crimes committed in sudden provocation. The idea of prisons is to isolate them from the society and reform them. So, we thought of training them in brick making. Apart from earning up to Rs 1 lakh a year and they can even start their own brick-making units with what they have earned in prisons, after they are released.” Also, if the central government's decision to implement ban on red bricks becomes effective, the demand for concrete bricks is expected to rise steeply.

Currently, the bricks being made in prisons are used by TNPHC itself as they are in constant need of construction materials for their various projects and the pavement blocks are used in new police quarters. The TNPHC is also in talks with Tamilnadu Magnesite Ltd (Tanmag) and Neyveli Lignite Corporation to buy their waste to convert them into construction materials.

The TNPHC has also adopted to one of the quickest construction methods being practised across the world to build a waiting hall for drivers at IPS officers' association in Egmore.

Unlike the existing method of using bricks and cement, the TNPHC used the high tensile iron wire mesh and thermocol to make the core which was covered with concrete on both sides. "The width of the wall decreases by half, but it is stronger than the regular wall. The entire waiting hall including the floor, ceiling and even staircase have been built in this method and buildings upto two storeys could be built in this method. When such buildings are constructed as part of a mass project, the cost would be cut by half and it takes less time compared to conventional construction method. The two-storey waiting hall in IPS officers' association was built in 40 days and no one would guess that it is a building constructed without bricks," said Kumar.