Municipal body to digitize 50-year-old records

Records of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dating to 1958 have been biting the dust for years now. Most of these records, might be destroyed forever if not conserved immediately.

Records of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dating to 1958 have been biting the dust for years now. Most of these records, might be destroyed forever if not conserved immediately.

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Waking up to the issue, the civic agency has now sought the help of Delhi Archives, government of Delhi, for conservation and digitization of its high-powered standing committee records.

According to the civic agency, the total cost of archiving the records will be around Rs 3 crore. The main thrust of the project will be to preserve the documents in their original form by archiving and lamination.

“The proposal was given a nod on Monday by MCD’s standing committee. We have more than 1,200 volumes that needs need to be digitized immediately. However, in the first phase, we will take up around 600 more volumes,” said Meera Akolia, municipal secretary, who placed the proposal in the standing committee of the MCD on Monday.

“To begin with we would be first preserving these records by digitising them and then microfilming them for benefit of scholars,” Akolia said.

“We will be shifting to our new headquarters at Civic Centre by the end of the year so the documents may get damaged in the process of transferring them so it’s important to conserve them beforehand. The records will be treated with a special chemical to preserve them,” she added.