PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has decided in principle to improve the food menu of prisons across the province, and directed the quarters concerned for necessary steps to increase the annual budget of prisons in the head of food from Rs. 1.5 billion to Rs. 2 billion.

He was presiding over a meeting of prisons department, here the other day.

He directed that all the deputy commissioners would be responsible to carry out regular quality inspection of meal items being served to inmates in the prisons of their respective districts.

The Chief Minister further decided provision of free legal aid for those prisoners, who cannot afford to hire lawyer to pursue their cases, and directed the concerned authorities to get the services of competent lawyers for this purpose.

He said that expenditures incurred on this would be borne by the provincial government. He also decided to provide Rs. 1 billion to meet out previous liabilities under various expenditures including food items, medicines and maintenance and repair works.

Gandapur agreed to make circle and region wise recruitments, but he directed that staffing in the prisons should be done purely on domicile basis.

The Chief Minister directed to prepare a formal plan for branding and marketing the products made by prisoners and to organise a proper showroom for this purpose, adding that the furniture made in prisons should be purchased by the government departments without tendering. Income earned from the said products would be spent on the wellbeing of prisoners and their families, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024