The State Government on Friday clarified about the fire incident and the reports that important files have been gutted in the fire.
In an official statement, the Government said information about fire due to short circuit in Vindhyachal Bhavan was received by a police patrol party in the intervening night of November 28 and 29, 2013. Following this, fire brigade and municipal staff swung into action and doused the fire. The watchman on duty in the office was also safely rescued.
During inspection, it was found that only D-2 (Finance and Establishment section) of the office of Development Commission caught fire. All other rooms are completely safe and darkness prevails there due to water logging and cut-off of power supply.
Files and records pertaining to only 150 employees working in the office of the Development Commissioner, Bhopal, are maintained in D-2 section. No damage was caused by the fire to any other section except D-2 section. Except for the section, which has caught fire, all other sections are being cleaned after obtaining permission from the police.
All important records in the chambers of Development Commissioner, Additional Development Commissioner and Panchayats and Rural Development Department are safe. Office of the Development Commissioner coordinates in departmental schemes and concerning records are maintained in the concerning offices situated elsewhere. Besides, internet is used widely for official work. Therefore, all important records are safe. There was no cash in the Finance Section. Details of the files destroyed by fire in the Finance Section are safe in computers.