Final touches are being given to the first "Open Jail" in Bihar where convicted prisoners will be able to live with their families in an atmosphere conducive to the development of their skills and talents. The prisoners would not only be allowed to work inside the jail premises but also go to a workplace within a five-kilometer radius. Besides this they will also be allowed to open a savings account in the nearest bank or post office for depositing their income.
The "Open Jail" is coming up over 42 acres of land in Buxar and the construction will complete by the end of March 2012 and about 100 inmates can start living in by May 2012. The facility will have 13 double-storey apartments with two-room flats on each floor where the inmates will stay, a community hall and a park inside the premises. There will also be a workshop that will impart vocational training to the inmates.
The children of the inmates would get free education as per the norms of the Right to Education Act.
The criteria for inmates selection are as follows
- Mostly convicts serving life terms across the state
- And convicts who have a few years of imprisonment left
- And have shown good character during the time they have been in the Jail.
This would be the country's 33rd open jail, the first such was set up in Rajasthan in 1963.
I think its a good step in rehabilitating the prisoners so that they can do better in life after getting out of the prison and can adjust to the environment without having to go back to criminal ways. I only hope that this doesn't become an opportunity for criminal politicians, who are serving sentences , to get more freedom than they deserve.
This and more details can be found in the IBN news article "Soon, Bihar to get its first 'open jail'"
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