First 15 e-Nigam tablets land in Ludhiana, but 5 lakh files still in digitisation backlog.

Ludhiana: The city has taken its first steps toward a paperless e-office system, though officials admit 5 lakh legacy files still languish in shabby record rooms.

The municipal corporation has received an initial batch of 15 tablets to replace paper resolutions in Finance and Contracts Committee and general house meetings. It will, at last, be Punjab’s first urban local body to transition to a new “e-Nigam” initiative modelled on the state assembly once the remaining devices arrive over the coming weeks.

Mayor Inderjit Kaur and municipal commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta will then oversee the distribution of tablets to all councillors and officials. The e-office environment being built will boost transparency and efficiency, they said in a joint statement issued on Friday, noting the move will save substantial time and paper.

While the civic body has already transitioned its daily internal filing system to a digital platform — aiming to eliminate physical backlogs— legacy record-keeping remains a significant challenge.

Despite the digital push for new business, the MC has yet to resolve how to handle an estimated 5 lakh historical files. These documents remain in shabby conditions across poorly maintained zonal record rooms, with officials acknowledging an urgent, unaddressed need for a massive scanning and digitisation project.