They will now be paid four times as much as they are currently.
Following the High Court’s concern about inadequate pay, Odisha’s directorate of prisons and correctional services have sought a four-fold increase in incentives for sentenced prisoners.
If the directorate’s plans are approved, unskilled offenders will receive Rs.234 per day instead of Rs.50. Semi-skilled and skilled inmates may be paid Rs.274 and Rs.324 rupees per day, respectively, compared to Rs.60 and Rs.70 per day for semi-skilled and skilled convicts.
A division bench of the Orissa High Court, chaired by Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar and Judge A. K. Mohapatra, is considering a case brought by a convict who raised concerns about the state’s correctional system.
Wages were one of the topics brought up. The practice, according to the Court, is that while offenders are engaged in carpentry, farming, and other tasks, undertrials are voluntary.
“When compared to best practices elsewhere in the country, the court determines that the rate of salaries paid to convicts is abysmally low.” The court was shown a copy of a circular issued by the Labour Commissioner of Odisha under the Minimum Wages Act on May 25, 2021, which set the minimum wages for unskilled workers at Rs.311 per day, Rs.351 for semi-skilled workers, Rs.401 for skilled workers, and Rs.461 for highly skilled workers per day,” said the division bench.
“In comparison, according to a recent Home Department circular dated June 18, 2021, the revised salaries paid to inmates for their labor were Rs.50 per day for ‘unskilled,’ Rs.60 per day for semi-skilled, and Rs.70 per day for skilled employment.” “This is a sham,” the bench remarked.
The High Court ordered the State to adopt best practices from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh and issue a new circular by March 1 at the latest.
The government was also encouraged to boost the number of programs by establishing a Prison Development Board that can help prisoners.
The division bench has issued a variety of orders ranging from prison overcrowding to the welfare of convicts’ children.
Prasanta Patnaik