Following PM Modi’s directive, home ministry destroys 1.5 lakh files

[Levina]

• Following PM Modi’s directive, home ministry destroys 1.5 lakh files
  PTI | Jun 23, 2014,
  
  
  
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) with home minister Rajnath Singh.
  
  
  NEW DELHI: On the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union home ministry is on a cleanliness drive and, in less than a month, has destroyed nearly 1.5 lakh files that had gathered dust for years.
  
  While going through the steel almirahs of North Block, officials also found some interesting files which gave an insight to some historic moments.
  
  One of these files was about the presidential sanction given to pay India's first governor general Lord Mountbatten a princely sum of Rs 64,000 as TA/DA allowance for moving back to his country.
  
  In today's time, the amount will be equivalent to several crores of rupees, a ministry official said.
  
  
• Another interesting snippet that came out was that after India's first President Rajendra Prasad refused to take any pension, it was eventually sent to the government's calamity fund.
  
  
  
  
  One of the home ministry files had records of Lord Mountbatten's TA/DA. (Getty Images photo)
  
  Even the salary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was sent to the calamity fund after he refused it, the files showed.
  
  
  
  
  Mahatma Gandhi before his funeral procession. (Getty Images photo)
  
  Another file has details about the Cabinet meeting that was called before the death of Mahatma Gandhi was announced, an official said.
  
  Asked if these files of historic value were saved or junked, an official expressed ignorance.

 

[scorpionx]

I do not think the files of historical values are to be junked. Each and every files are being thoroughly scrutinized before.One has to be absolute insane to destroy such valuable documents.

 

[Armstrong]

@levina - What kind of cleanliness drive is this ?

Surely Mounty's TA/DA amongst other stuff ought to have been donated to a public or even private (university) library !

 

[Indischer]

I hope they scanned and preserved a soft copy of those files before scrapping them.

 

[AugenBlick]

Who wants to bet that the gandhi file is destroyed and the Mountbatten File is retained.

 

[Dem!god]

good clean the junk .....
though save it in digital format...

 

[Levina]

@levina - What kind of cleanliness drive is this ?

Not my area of specialisation you see.So I dont know what "kinda" cleanliness drive this is.
But I do hope that the files were not destroyed indiscriminately and that a soft copy of it is retained .I know I am hoping against all hopes, i am almost certain that 95% of the files would have no soft copy as the article itself doesnt talk of one.

Surely Mounty's TA/DA amongst other stuff ought to have been donated to a public or even private (university) library !

Thats as if we had any say in it. Btw now that we are talking of donations, i have something to show you, check "whatever".

Who wants to bet that the gandhi file is destroyed and the Mountbatten File is retained.

you win!
We would never know what they discussed in the final meeting before Gandhi's death.

 

[harpoon]

UPA ministers had a very bad habit of "sitting " on their files for long periods of time especially during the last 2 years. Also I read in a newspaper article that tne notes written by Manish Tiwari was so long and so complex that his subordinates needed dictionary to decipher what he wrote.

 

[kbd-raaf]

Indians have a bad habit of hoarding old stuff. Our shed is filled with old textbooks and what not.

Nobody's read those files in decades and they haven't been misses, they won't be missed once destroyed.

 

[forcetrip]

Should have been called "Scan and Save" drive. Only an idiot would destroy files that encompass our history.

 

[Levina]

Nobody's read those files in decades and they haven't been misses, they won't be missed once destroyed.

I wish somebody had read those files and proved many of the rumors true.

 

[AugenBlick]

Should have been called "Scan and Save" drive. Only an idiot would destroy files that encompass our history.

Some things need to Die.

 

[Koovie]

WTH?!

They should have donated them to a museum instead of destroying them.... stupid decision

 

[AugenBlick]

WTH?!

They should have donated them to a museum instead of destroying them.... stupid decision

Nah it was the right decision.

 

[Iggy]

May be in those files, there was a file about how much money Reliance have to pay to Indian government