Mumbai: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal doubling the financial assistance provided for the rehabilitation of released female juvenile prisoners to Rs 50,000. The hike came two years after the govt increased the financial assistance to Rs 25,000 in 2024. The amount was increased on the directions of the Bombay High Court, said women and child welfare minister Aditi Tatkare.The assistance provided by the women and child welfare dept is available to juveniles who have been found innocent by the courts. It is provided to those serving sentences under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.The grant-in-aid scheme has been operational in the state for over three decades and helps released convicts get self-employed. Initially, the payout was Rs 1,000, which was increased to Rs 25,000 in 2024, and now it will be Rs 50,000. Between 2009-10 and 2021-22, 1,015 juveniles benefited from this scheme. In the last three years, approximately 162 juveniles have been released and around 155 have benefited from this scheme.A govt press release said an auxiliary grant scheme is being implemented under the women and child development department to enable prisoners released after serving many years in prison to set up businesses to earn a living in society. Under this scheme, an auxiliary grant of Rs 25,000 is given to released prisoners and probationers sentenced under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958. This grant has been increased to Rs 50,000. Along with this, it has been decided to include prisoners who have been acquitted but were imprisoned for at least one year in this scheme, stated the press release. For the current financial year, the govt has budgeted Rs 44 lakh for the scheme.Several prisoners who are released after long years of incarceration are unable to resume their previous form of employment or find new employment due to social stigma and are thus unable to earn a living. By the time the juveniles are released from prison, they have crossed the age of 40. Through this scheme, prisoners can get Rs 50,000 on submitting a proposal to the district probation officer under the Women and Child Development department. The prisoner is expected to submit a proposal on a business they want to start along with other requisite documents.The state govt also runs a Swadhar Griha Scheme for women prisoners wherein the women and child welfare dept provides food, shelter, clothing and medical assistance. Under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, wives of prisoners also received a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500.
