PANAJI
In a move to safeguard archival documents from tempering and prevent attempts of land grab scams, the newly commissioned Archives department has been brought under CCTV surveillance.
During the inauguration of the new office building at Kadamba Plateau, the Minister for Archives Subhash Phal Desai informed that the general public can now get archival documents translated online from Portuguese to English through 15 government-empanelled translators at a cost of Rs 350 per page. He also said that the department will undertake digitisation of nearly three crore documents.
“The new premise is completely under CCTV surveillance. This will safeguard the documents from tempering, being misplaced or stolen. We have seen these incidents happening in the past and what it led to (land grab scams). Our officers were also found involved,” the minister said.
Phal Desai said that post digitisation, the archival records will be made available to the public through secured software, which will ensure that these are not misused. “The mechanism will help prevent and help identify attempts of land grab scams,” he said.
As the new office is being shifted to a rented premise, covering 2500 sq mtrs area, Phal Desai said that the government is in process of identifying a suitable land to construct a new building for Archives and Archaeology department. He said that the relocation of the department was necessary due to the vulnerability of its location in Mala-Panaji area, which is vulnerable to flooding during monsoon, endangering centuries-old archives.
