It is overwhelming to see prisons going green. This eco-friendly initiative is being taken at South Asia’s largest prison, the Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi. By including the use of renewable energy, recycled waste and cutting its electricity consumption, the jail hopes to become world’s first earth-friendly prison. Built over 395 acres the detention center has 10 prison blocks that are extremely overcrowded.
The prison authorities with their green attempts not only aim to achieve international standards, but also want to improve living conditions for the inmates. It already uses rainwater-harvesting systems to keep ground water levels topped up, in addition to piped natural gas fuel that has been used to cook food in the kitchens for the last 25 years.
Over the next three years, Tihar Central Jail will take many green initiatives, which include installation of two sewage treatment plants that will recycle water for horticulture and sanitation, mounting a solar-powered heating system and replacement of light bulbs in the cells and administrative offices with low-energy alternatives. The authority is also plans to have power cuts from 7:00 am to 9:00 am and between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm to save energy. These efforts will help in cutting down energy consumption by 50 to 70 percent.
A ‘greening’ project that will get half the aid from the government will also be undertaken. Under this $ 210,000 project, four biogas facilities will be set up near the prison’s kitchens that will help in reducing tones of household waste. The objective behind these green efforts is to save the environment by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, while bringing down the prison’s 45-million-rupee annual electricity bill.