660 released prisoners to get financial aid after long wait

CHENNAI: After waiting for nearly three to four years for financial assistance to start a new lease of life, nearly 600 odd released prisoners would receive aid to the tune of Rs 3.30 crore from the Discharged Prisoners Aid Society (DPAS).

Officials in the prison department said they have collected the applications from released prisoners across the state and short listed as many as 660 eligible released prisoners for the financial assistance scheme. “It is the single largest disbursal of financial assistance e through DPA Societies. Chief Minister MK Stalin would disburse the aid to the life convicts in the first week of May in Chennai,” said a senior official in the department.

Since 2018 June, the State government has released nearly 2,000 life time and long time convicts under the premature release to mark the birth centenary celebration of former CMs MG Ramachandran and CN Annadurai.

Majority of them were skilled labourers, who learned the trades like carpentry, wielding, cooking and sewing after working in prison industries during their incarceration. On the occasion of their release, many of them appealed to the prison authorities and the probation officers for financial assistance to rebuild their life. But their wait for the assistance was prolonged until recently. “I applied for financial aid within a couple of months after my release. I learned cooking and I am good at it, but there was no help from relatives nor from the government all these years. The lockdown worsened my situation. At least, I received information from an officer (Probation Official) that I will get financial help soon,” said Rangasamy (name changed), who was released from the Coimbatore Central Prison in 2018.

Red-tapism left many like Rangasamy in anguish and untold misery as they were fighting hard to eke out a living.

“Many of the released prisoners asked for help to buy milch cows, eateries, petty shops, and mechanic shops, but they were tired of waiting all these years. This shows the inefficiencies of the central committee headed by the senior officials of the department. The committee is the governing council of DPA Societies,” said an PO, preferring anonymity.

Admitting to the delay in disbursing aid to the released prisoners, a senior official in the department said, “Several of the DPA societies were defunct for nearly 10 years. It denied timely help for the released prisoners. Sensing the plights of the prisoners, we stepped in and facilitated the societies to provide the help. We carried out a special drive to facilitate the prisoners to get the aid. They will be receiving financial help within two or three weeks. The CM to disburse the aid to the beneficiaries.”