The Department of National Registration (DNR) and the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) have agreed to provide Malé City Council with digital copies of important documents and other vital data lost in last Thursday’s fire.
Mayor Adam Azim said in a general meeting held by the council that a meeting was with DNR and DJA to obtain copies of the documents lost in the fire incident. The city council has been assured full cooperation of both agencies, he said.
Azim said the DJA has digital copies of the city’s housing registries and housing related judgments. As such, the agency has agreed to make the information available to the city council, he added. With the existing information in the city council database and the data provided by the DJA and DNR, the goal is to ensure that all city council information is digitally managed in the future, Azim said.
"They [the DJA] have a lot of information, court decisions and all, they have everything digitally. The plan it for our IT guys and their IT guys to work together once they give us review access," Azim said.
Deputy Mayor Ahmed Nareesh said the most encouraging news from the meetings held with the DJA and DNR was that the council will receive digital copies of marriage certificates, through the two agencies, required for birth certificates. With this the public will not have to submit a copy of their marriage certificates to the council to get a birth certificate, Nareesh said.
“Instead of having to go [to the council] with the marriage certificate, it will be verified from the digital copy and [the certificate] will be sent to the applicant digitally on the day of application for the birth certificate,” he said.
The agency has also agreed to make digital copies of the residential registries available to the city council, he said.
“They [DJA] has agreed to provide digital copies of everything at [DJA], from the oldest case files to the most recent, relating to the oldest registrations lost from our land section," Nareesh also added.
Nareesh said with the assistance, 85 percent of the services provided by the Vital Registration Section and Land Section of the city council will be resumed next week.
North Galolhu Councilor Mohamed Saif Fathih appreciated the cooperation of the DJA and DNR in recovering this important information. He also added that the city council would be able to access this information without any difficulty after signing an MOU with the two agencies.
“The response went very well... they were very open-minded and very responsible and helpful in the way they acted towards us,” Saif said.
A lot of important documents from the city council's Vital Registration Office got lost in the fire which erupted in the Tin Building that housing the Housing Ministry and the Construction and Infrastructure Ministry. The fire also spread to the adjacent Green Building, rendering both buildings unusable.
The city council's Vital Registration Office handles the management of birth certificates and death records, as well as residence and land registration.
Following the fire, the council on Thursday moved all services of the Vital Registration Office to the city council office on the first floor of Amin Avenue in Hulhumalé.
However, the documents from the burnt building have since been moved to a Galolhu Madhurasa hall to resume services in Malé.
The government has now temporarily allocated Thaajuddeen School's hall to resume the work of the office. Preparation of the hall will start on Tuesday, the city council said.
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