Brand new crèches for TN prisons’ little residents
"There is a strict order to prison authorities not to treat the children as convicts or undertrials. Efforts are being taken to ensure a child-friendly environment for them," said an official
Creche in Puzhall III prison
CHENNAI: For the youngest residents of Tamil Nadu's women's prisons, life is about to get a little brighter. The state government is set to give a much-needed makeover to the existing crèches in the Special Prisons for Women, transforming them into colourful, safe spaces designed to nurture and care for the children living with their incarcerated mothers.
Women inmates, according to the Tamil Nadu Prisons Rules 2024, are permitted to keep their children with them in prison until the age of six (after which they are sent to government-approved homes, if their relatives are unwilling to take them). While most inmates have relatives to care for their children, these facilities will prove invaluable for those who lack family support or alternative care arrangements. "There is a strict order to prison authorities not to treat the children as convicts or undertrials. Efforts are being taken to ensure a child-friendly environment for them," said an official, listing out a total of 759 inmates, including 245 convicts, currently in the special prisons for women in the state.
At present, 13 children are living on the premises of a Special prison for women in Puzhal. These children are cared for in the existing crèche in Puzhal-III prison, which was previously upgraded through the Prison Inmate Welfare Fund, sourced from profits generated by the prison-run petrol bunk. Similar crèche facilities are set to be established in the central prisons for women in Trichy (2), Coimbatore (3), Vellore (1), and Madurai (4).
"Unlike in Puzhal, we are currently using some rooms with minimal facilities as crèches. Now, the department has allocated funds to improve these spaces to match the standards of privately operated crèches outside," said a senior prison department official. The department would spend Rs 1.33 lakh for each facility.
The refurbished rooms will soon be brightened with a fresh coat of paint, and floors will be laid with rubber mats. Tables, chairs, cradles, toys, number and shape puzzles, tricycles, mini-slides, seesaws, swings, and trampolines will adorn the crèches, creating a pleasant, engaging environment that promotes safe and stimulating activities during the children's stay. "We have received the funds for crèches from the government and work will commence soon, " said an official in the department.
