Broken shelves, unsold products: Tihar Jail’s once-famous retail dream now clings to hope

According to prison data, sales of bakery and factory products have reduced from ₹11 lakh in 2022-2023 fiscal to ₹4.75 lakh in 2025

At Tihar Haat, partially broken, mostly empty wooden shelves have only a few cookie packets, some of which are torn. A fine layer of dust sits uniformly on the countable, scattered furniture pieces on display at another store. Similar is the state of seven other Tihar administration outlets called “TJ’s” — once a vibrant initiative which showcases products made by inmates of Tihar Jail.

A TJ’s in Rohini court complex. (HT Photo)

When it first opened more than a decade ago, Tihar Haat outlets drew attention, and praise, as they were a visual representation of the reforms that jail inmates undergo. While it was run by the prison administration, the varied range of goods were handmade by its inmates. Its stores in city courts and a few others near Tihar prison and Pusa Road sold cookies, oils, spices and even furniture, among other things.

Over the years, however, production has gone down, and consequently the sales. “Especially during and after the pandemic, the prisoners who were good at their craft were released on bail and that’s one of the primary reasons of decreased production,” said an official aware of the matter.

According to prison data, sales of bakery and factory products have reduced from ₹11 lakh in the 2022-2023 fiscal to ₹7 lakh in 2023-2024, and to ₹4.75 lakh in 2025. In early 2010s, the yearly turnover ran in crores, officials said.

Acknowledging the same, officials say that plans are underway to revive the initiative.

However, director general (prisons) Satish Golcha has taken stock of the situation and asked a superintendent rank officer to prepare a proposal on the revival of these outlets.

“I visited all the outlets in May and found that these activities need to be run in an organised manner and on a self-sustainable basis. The display design needs to be changed to make them more attractive. Marketing needs to be done as well. Efforts are already underway to improve these outlets and provide work to inmates who want to work,” he said.

A senior prison official said that a proposal to create a registered society has already been submitted to the state government. “Efforts are being made to market TJ’s products. We recently received a sizeable order for desks for MCD schools. Similar efforts are being made with other organisations,” the official said.

Police officers aware of TJs’ functioning said that work was also done to supply around 400,000 file covers to institutions, including the Supreme Court and Delhi high court. “An online inventory system is being implemented with Axis Bank to boost product availability. Tihar Emporia has been developed as a model store for jail products; other shops will be facelifted within two months,” a senior police official said.

Condition of stores

HT, in the first week of May, visited Tihar Haat on Jail Road close to central jail number two, where three of the five shelves were almost empty. The white paint on the walls was peeling off and the iron entry door was rusting.

An official working at the outlet, who asked not to be named, said: “We used to sell a range of furniture, including sofas, but we don’t do that anymore. Around 15 bakery products were sold here but now only seven-eight are on offer. Other products such as spices and clothes are also limited. Production of soaps and similar products have altogether stopped.” .

The only thing that has survived the times is mustard oil, he said.

At the outlet in Tis Hazari court, which flaunts the name “TJ’s” on a display board, 62-year-old Prabhat Garg who runs it gave a similar brief.

“I have been running the store since after the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent times, if I ask for supply of 15 packets of a cookie, I only get four-five on a daily basis,” said Garg, who is the uncle of a former convict who initially ran the store.

In Rohini court, a small Haat outlet near the food court on the ground floor currently also sells eatables, which officials said are not sanctioned by the Tihar administration. A 24-year-old worker who did not wish to be identified said the operator, who is a prison staffer, does not often show up .

“There are four wooden shelves only. It was in a bad shape a year back so the operator got some renovations done,” he said.

The outlets in the Delhi high court and the Dwarka district court were shut when HT visited. While people at Dwarka said the outlet has not opened since last year, those at the high court claim it has been shut since the pandemic.

A TJ’s outlet in south Delhi’s Select City Walk mall was also discontinued many years ago.

“Before the pandemic, the situation was still better because the supplies were at least in place and we also offered more products. Let’s see what happens,” Garg sounded hopeful.