On Friday, the state's Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said that all municipal bodies across Bengal will be instructed to create facilities ensuring efficient issuance of birth and death certificates.
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Increased application slots in Kolkata
The announcement comes after Hakim’s earlier order, given when he was the Mayor of Calcutta, to the KMC to increase the application slots for these certificates. The KMC has been processing around 300 applications daily since Monday, compared to the earlier 150 slots per day. After Hakim’s intervention, the online appointment slots were increased to 240, while 60 more applications are now being received from walk-in applicants.
Hakim said that he will “ask municipalities and other municipal corporations to create systems so that people get the birth and death certificates.”
Online and offline options
While certificates of newborns or recent deaths can be downloaded from the Janma Mrityu Tathya portal, older records or documents requiring corrections still need to be submitted physically at municipal offices.
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Timely initiative ahead of electoral roll verification
This announcement comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. With voter list verification hearings slated to take place from December 9 to January 31, the civic administration has pointed to a surge in the demand for birth and death certificates. Reportedly, in enhancing access to these important documents, municipal bodies are trying to help citizens get through the verification process as smoothly as possible.
