Of late, the income has fallen drastically to Rs 35,000. The reason may be ascribed to the fact that the government has not sanctioned the appointment of five vocational instructors when only one instructor mans the centre apart from an arts and crafts teacher and two part-time special teachers for the mentally challenged.

Moreover, it requires at least four years for a single mentally challenged inmate to graduate from the pre-vocational training stage to the vocational level when they can do productive work.

Two posts of full-time special teachers have been lying vacant for the last two years as well. Under the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, inmates are taught how to make chairs, doormats, tailoring, embroidery, handicraft work, farming and computing. While the government bears the responsibility of salary grant to the institute, other expenses, including payment of Rs 100-150 per month to the inmates as token appreciation money, renovation, purchase of machinery required as well as the cost of raw materials, are borne by the institute. The investment figures have dwindled given the lowering rate of production.

Dr S R Apte, the in-charge director of the institute said: “The government machinery has been so slow that it is already over two years since we asked for five vocational trainers after four of our trainers retired around that time. While seven sanctioned posts have been lying vacant, we also have to depend totally on donations and recycling of income generated by the selling of goods manufactured at the centre to pay the token money and purchase of raw materials.”

The institute has recently renovated its Vocational Rehabilitation Centre and purchased machinery to make chairs at an investment of Rs 1 lakh donated by the relative of one of the inmates. A part of the donated money has been set aside for token appreciation money.