The Hindu Business Line : C-DIT plans digital archive on Kerala

AS part of the efforts to strengthen the decentralised people's plan programme in Kerala, the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) is embarking on a project to put in place a development database and a communication network so as to enhance the quality of public participation in the planning process.

The project, titled `Sutharya Keralam' (Transparent Kerala), involves the creation of a Digital Development Archive as a storehouse of the State's resources, and featuring Internet-based open forum, community radio, video docu- mentaries and print medium.

The project will be co-ordinated by the State Planning Board and implemented by C-DIT.

The assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is also being sought for the project, according to C-DIT officials.

The programme envisages compilation, analysis and creation of a database of information pertaining to the development of a region.

For this purpose, panchayat development reports and annual plans at the State Planning Board will be compiled and updated in the form of a digital archive.

A new communication strategy will also be formulated by integrating multiple media channels like community radio, television and Internet to improve public participation in development process, thus ensuring accountability and transparency of governance.

It is pointed out that the decentralisation process in Kerala has moved from experi- mental phase through a corrective phase and has now entered the critical institutionalisation phase. The proposed project is expected to further strengthen the evolution of the process.

The digital archive will have two components - a development archive and a heritage archive. The development archive will store any data connected with the functioning of the Government, local bodies, research and development institutions and agencies and organisations working in the development sector of the State.

The heritage archive will be an audio-visual storehouse of art forms, literature and the cultural heritage of the State. Besides, local dialects, slangs, myths and stories that could not be preserved otherwise will be recorded from the source, catalogued and stored.

C-DIT will collaborate with a number of institutions and tap the expertise from a wide network of specialised agencies to implement the project.

Some of the institutions that will be involved in the work are Centre for Development Studies, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Information Kerala Mission, and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration.

The project is proposed to be implemented in two phases.

In the first phase spanning eight months, the focus will be on translation of nearly three lakh pages of 1,250 development reports of the various panchayat raj institutions into English, their classification, analysis and the creation of the database.

It is also envisaged that different teams will work on different aspects of the communication network to be developed for the project.

The second phase will see the actual implementation of the project. A pilot programme will be taken up in one district and expanded to all the other districts subsequently.

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C-DIT plans digital archive on Kerala