Tihar Jail teams up with Bureau of Energy Efficiency to go green

For one,the the carpentry unit at Tihar jail will be tapped. As many as 350 workers are employed in this unit,which produces 12 kg of sawdust everyday. In addition to this,1,000 kg of wood pieces are collected through pruning and other processes.

Stating that the wood will be compressed and converted into wooden briquets,a senior official said,“We have asked the jail authorities to install gassifiers,where these briquets will be used to produce steam. The steam can be used in the bakery.”

Four biogas plants with a total capacity of 120 cubic metres are also being constructed. Tihar Jail authorities have already called for work tenders,and Rs 86 lakh has been set aside for the purpose.

“Vandals run rampant in the jail,so we have to be careful about the kind of equipment we install,” a senior official from the Environment department said.

Besides this,the authorities also plan to turn the ceiling into ‘cool roofs’. Though the concept was discussed in the Delhi Cabinet,it has not been implemented in any of the buildings in the Capital until now. “We will embed white tiles on the roof. This will help cut down on energy consumption as the tiles will reflect sun rays,keeping the building cooler,” an official. The jail authorities want to earn carbon credits from these measures.

The Environment department will also install solar water heaters,capable of warming 30,000 litres of water per day,at nine jails and the jail hospital. “We have already adopted a few measures such as having 12 water harvesting plants and six sewage treatment plants. For horticulture work,we will only use treated water. Also,to cut down energy consumption for two hours in the morning and evening,we will turn off all non-essential lights,” said Tihar spokesperson Sunil Gupta.