RANCHI: Serving time for the multi-crore fodder scam, RJD president Lalu Prasad earns Rs 14 a day for gardening and is apparently happy with tending lawns, flower beds and vegetable patches at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Hotwar.

Jail wardens allotted gardening to scam convicts around a week ago but Lalu started work only a day after the Jharkhand high court rejected his bail plea on October 30. Three IAS and one IRS officer, also convicted in the scam, have turned teachers inside the jail.

Jail sources say Lalu appears to enjoy the hours supervising work and instructing other gardeners. He will get a day-off each week. Spread over 52 acres, the jail boasts of well-maintained lawns, gardens and vegetable plantations.

The influential Bihar politician, who was railway minister between 2004 and 2009, has JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma and ex-RJD MLA R K Rana - who allegedly conspired with Lalu to siphon off money from the Chaibasa treasury - as co-workers.

Though Lalu holds a political science degree and was invited by Harvard Business School and IIM Ahmedabad to speak on management, jail authorities decided not to allot him teaching due to security reasons. Jharkhand police had recently alerted the jail about a possible threat to Lalu and asked for adequate security. Around 30% of 3,000-odd prisoners at Hotwar are hardcore criminals and 10% Maoists.

Lalu violates Jharkhand jail manual everyday to meet scores of people. "It all amounts to security threat to Lalu," the alert had warned.

