Fuel outlet to be run exclusively by convicts coming up near the Special Prison for Women in Tiruchi

A fuel station to be operated exclusively by convicts will come up soon in front of the Special Prison for Women situated near the Gandhi Market in Tiruchi

A fuel station to be operated exclusively by convicts will come up soon in front of the Special Prison for Women situated near the Gandhi Market in Tiruchi. Civil work on the outlet is in full swing on a piece of land belonging to the Tamil Nadu Prisons Department. 

The State government issued an order last year sanctioning six petroleum outlets, including two in Tiruchi under phase - II.  The public sector Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) is setting up the outlets in collaboration with the Prisons Department near the Special Prison for Women.

Nearly 70% of the construction work on the fuel outlet had been completed, said prison authorities and added that a team of convicts would be identified by the department to operate the outlet daily in shifts. The proposed outlet would be equipped with security features such as surveillance cameras. The department would carefully select the convicts for deployment at the proposed outlet. IOCL would train the selected candidates. The convicts would be paid wages for the work. The move to start the fuel outlet and engage convicts serving long sentences was aimed at their reformation and rehabilitation, said the authorities.

Under phase-I pilot project, the Prisons Department in association with the IOCL had established petroleum retail outlets at Puzhal in Chennai, Vellore, Coimbatore, Palayamkottai and in Pudukottai as a rehabilitation measure for the convicts. The turnover of the five petroleum retail outlets set up in phase-I for financial years 2018-2019 to 2022-2023 up to November 2022 was ₹751.71 crore, with a net profit of ₹21.56 crore, according to the Home, Prohibition and Excise Department’s Policy Note 2023-24.