Vice-president of Dakshin Odisha Unnayan Parishad (DOUP) and former Professor of Utkal University Prof Pitambara Padhi on Thursday expressed his serious concern over the abnormal delay in framing rules of the Odisha Public library Act which was enacted in 2001.Though 14 long years have already elapsed, the State Government is yet to frame suitable rules for implementation of the Act which is quite shocking, Prof Padhi said here during his visit to Brahmapur.
The Act has a clear provision of “City library” in each city, to which the Department of Culture has turned deaf ears, he pointed out. Though the Government had declared the Act’s implementation with effect from July 1, 2002, no follow-up action in this regard has yet been taken by the Department of Culture except taking a resolution at a meeting held on January 15, 2011 seeking required funds to implement the Act, Prof Padhi alleged.
After ten years of deep slumber, the Government merely took the resolution to frame and initiate implementation of library rules, but the proposal is gathering dust in the Finance Department without realising its urgency, he said.Prof Padhi said the issue would be discussed at the forthcoming national seminar on “library Development in Odisha: Past, Present and Future” to be held in the Post Graduate Department of library and Information Science of the Utkal University on the occasion of its alumni meet on February 14 and 15 February, which more than 200 library and information experts are expected to attend to chalk out a future strategy on the issue.
Prof Padhi also demanded setting up of a state-of-the art City library in Brahmampur, the educational hub of south Odisha. The City library can be set up either by the Government or by the BMC in a central locality like Gandhinagar which is surrounded by a number of educational and commercial establishments. A City library, which would also act as a community information centre, would help city denizens develop reading habit and facilitate both children and senior citizens to spend their leisure time in library.
Prof Padhi demanded that necessary allocation be made in the forthcoming State Budge to implement the Act. The Government, if required, may generate funds through the PPP mode where as there are corporate houses eager to donate funds for charitable purposes including setting of public libraries.
Prof Padhi alleged that whatever exercises have been done by the Government in the process of enactment of the law and efforts for its implementation, the entire exercise done by the various committees so far did not have any experts except the Deputy Director of Culture. The whole exercise was done by nonprofessionals who lack knowledge in the public library system and its technical knowhow.
It may be mentioned that from 1948 till date, 18 States/UTs in India have their respective library Acts. They are Tamil Nadu (1948), AP (1960), Karnataka (1965); Maharashtra (1967), WB (1979), Manipur (1988), Haryana (1989), Kerala (1989), Mizoram (1993), Goa (1993), Gujarat (2000), Odisha (2001), Uttaranchal (2005), Rajasthan (2006), UP (2006), lakshadeep (2007), Bihar (2008), Chhattisgarh (2009) and Arunanchal Pradesh (2009).
But except Odisha, the laws in the remaining States and UTs have already been implemented.