In a remarkable twist to the electoral process, the voter registration form you filled out during Vadodara's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive might carry a unique backstory. Before reaching your hands, it likely passed through the hands of convicted inmates, including serious offenders, within the high-security confines of Vadodara Central Jail.
From Prison Walls to Democratic Halls: The Unlikely Partnership
The Vadodara district administration, in a novel initiative, turned to the prison's in-house printing unit to meet urgent demands. They assigned inmates the task of printing a massive 50,000 SIR voter forms, effectively transforming the jail press into an integral, if unexpected, cog in the democratic machinery. This move followed a previous successful collaboration where inmates manufactured high-quality folders and registers for the same electoral exercise.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Usha Rada of Vadodara Central Jail confirmed the development. "Now, we have got orders for printing the SIR voter forms too, and the inmates immediately got down to work. We printed the forms within a few days," Rada stated. She highlighted that the inmates have developed significant expertise in printing, an activity that also generates substantial revenue for the jail's operations, with more orders anticipated.
A Swift Response to Electoral Urgency
The collaboration gained momentum last month when the district administration faced an urgent need for thousands of sturdy folders to protect lakhs of voter forms arriving daily. While private agencies were involved, the scale and urgency required additional capacity.
The inmate team stepped up swiftly, preparing over 3,000 folders along with registers for the Booth Level Officers (BLOs). These items are now actively being used to store and record the electoral data of lakhs of voters across the region, playing a direct role in safeguarding democratic information.
Financial Success and Expanding Reach
This initiative is not just about social integration; it's a financially sound enterprise. The annual turnover of the jail's printing and stationery unit crossed Rs 1.85 crore in the 2024–25 financial year, recording a net profit of approximately Rs 16 lakh.
Stationery items produced at Vadodara Central Jail are supplied to most government offices and district police departments in central Gujarat. Notably, it is the only jail in the state operating a full-fledged printing press, and it regularly secures orders from government offices in other major cities like Rajkot and Mehsana.
This story underscores a unique model where correctional facility resources are leveraged for public good, contributing to both the rehabilitation of inmates through skilled work and supporting essential democratic functions like the voter revision drive.
