THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: How long will it take for the authorities to construct a 20,000 sq ft three-storeyed building to set up an International Archives and Heritage Centre (IAHC)? Coming up at Kariavattom in Thiruvananthapuram, only one storey has so far been completed by the Kerala state archives department despite Rs 8 crore having been allotted in 2016 as part of the first Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government’s 100-day programme. The Kerala Museum is the nodal agency for the project.
Under the circumstances, both the archives department and Kerala Museum authorities have been engaged in a blame game, alleging red-tapism behind the inordinate delay.
The dream project was envisaged by the previous LDF government in association with the Kerala University — on an acre given on lease on the Kariavattom campus for study and research of archives — after the 2018 flood had resulted in an outcry among the people and conservationists to digitise land deeds and books, including rare documents. Researchers had also highlighted the need for scientific conservation of records.
One crore palm leaf documents, the world’s largest such collection, will be conserved once the IAHC is set up. But red-tapism has played spoilsport, with the previous archives minister Ahmed Devarkovil having tried his best to complete the project during his tenure. Recently, his successor Ramachandran Kadannapally constituted a working group to expedite the project.
A senior archives department official told TNIE that there was inordinate delay in getting land from the Kerala University. Then, there was an issue of getting permission from the government to initiate the construction of the building.
“There has been a lack of resourceful personnel at the Kerala Museums to expedite the IAHC project. Once the project is launched, the centre is not only going to benefit the Malayalis, but foreign researchers and conservationists. The manuscripts library working next door, belonging to the university, will also benefit. Several lakhs of untold palm leaf documents pertaining to the Mathilakam records from the Travancore history will be displayed. As of now, we are hopeful the IAHC project can be launched this year,” said the archives department official.
Meanwhile, a senior official with the Kerala Museums said IAHC has been a real gem of a project under the archives department.“The project is facing roadblocks only because of the ineptitude on the part of the archives department,” said the Kerala Museums official.