Cabinet approves purchase of 10K dual desks from Tihar jail factory

The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to procure 10,000 dual desks from the Tihar Central Jail Factory in a bid to address the acute shortage of classroom furniture in government schools.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who said the initiative would simultaneously improve learning conditions for students and strengthen rehabilitation opportunities for prison inmates.

The purchase aligns with directions issued by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs at the third National Chief Secretaries’ Conference, which encouraged states to utilise prison-made goods to support inmate reform and productive engagement.

The desks would be supplied at the proposed rates, inclusive of GST. The total cost of the desks has been fixed at Rs 8.95 crore, including transportation and incidental expenses. The Education Department has already set aside Rs 20 crore in the 2025–26 Budget for furniture and essential school infrastructure upgrades.

The Chief Minister said the desks produced by the Tihar Jail Factory match the quality of furniture made by the Public Works Department and are roughly 25 per cent cheaper than market. “This step strengthens our schools and also reinforces our commitment to rehabilitation, reform and reintegration of inmates,” she said.

Minister Ashish Sood said Delhi currently had 1,086 government schools, many of which were facing shortage of furniture. A survey conducted in April identified a requirement of 23,321 dual desks across 127 schools, with additional requests bringing the total demand to nearly 25,000 desks.