NAINITAL: At least 700 inmates at Haldwani sub-jail will now get 'smart cards' to make purchases from the jail canteen in a bid to encourage cashless transactions.
With this drive, the Haldwani sub-jail joins a fast-growing league of prisons across the country that have rolled out such initiatives. These include jails in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra. Some also allow smart cards to be used in ATMs to withdraw money or as “health cards” with medical histories stored on them. Haldwani sub-jail superintendent S K Sukhija told TOI the smart cards are meant to replace a coupon system that exists at present and encourage cashless transactions. “Earlier, prisoners had to get coupons from the jail administration and take those to the canteen. Now the families can deposit money in the bank accounts of the prisoners and a card will be issued to them,” he said.
The card will contain biometrics of the inmates so they can’t be misused, said jail officials. They will also have the prisoner’s names and other details. The cards can be used to make purchases of up to Rs 4,500 a month from the jail canteen which sells essentials as well as snacks and clothes.
Jail officials said that more inmates will get the smart cards in the next phase. At present, the jail houses 153 convicts and 1,503 undertrials.
