Chandigarh, Sep 25 - Government offices in Chandigarh will soon get new furniture - not from any ordinary furniture shop but from the model jail factory here.

The Chandigarh administration Friday ordered all heads of department to purchase their furniture items in future from the jail factory to make optimum utilisation of the skills of prison inmates.

Inmates of the model jail here, considered one of the best prisons in the country, are already making furniture for some government offices but lack of orders is a deterrent to their productivity.

'The inmates are willing to work and earn their lost self confidence and dignity. Giving them an opportunity is the administration's foremost duty,' said Home Secretary Ram Niwas.

He added that purchase of furniture from other places would be allowed only if the jail factory is unable to make a particular product.

Assistant Inspector General N.P.S. Randhawa said the administration has decided to get outdated furniture from government offices and send it to the jail so that inmates can use it for training purposes.