The state government seems to have not learnt anything fromthe recent fire at Mantralaya, Mumbai which gutted several documents. In areply to Fatorda MLA Vijay Sardesai, CM Manohar Parrikar said that only 7 ofthe 79 departments had scanned existing files which contained vitalrecords.
This is disturbing since departments like archaeology, town& country planning have information dating back to 1961 and a fire couldrender it all to cinder.
Major departments like the Directorate of accounts,agriculture, archives and archeology, North Goa collectorate, education,commissioner of excise, Directorate of museum and others are yet to move anyproposals to scan their documents.
Departments like the office of the collector -south Goa,District Disaster Management cell, Goa college of architecture, Goa college ofengineering, office of commandant general home guards and Director, civildefence have their documentsdigitalized.
Speaking to The Goan North Goa Collector Mihir Vardhan said“Files have not been scanned but we have plans. We are soon floating atender”.
Arun Desai, Director of Directorate of transport admittedthat the documents were not scanned till date.
Interestingly, department like fire and emergency, the nodalauthority on safety measures in the state too have not scanned theirdocuments.
The RTI Act 2005 states that records of all Govt Departmentsneed to be digitally documented 120 days after the Act came into force in 2006.With its large database of parched yellow documents stacked dangerously intodingy fire prone rooms, Goa’s recorded government history sits precariouslyperched on a powder keg.
