In a move against late registrations of births and deaths, the West Bengal government on Thursday set a series of stringent rules and formalities for getting clearance in such cases.
The government in a notification said the steps were taken to prevent the issue of fake birth and death certificates, improve transparency, and strengthen the verification process for issuing official civil registration documents.
According to the notification issued by Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, following a state Cabinet decision, a prior permission would be needed if there is a month’s delay in the registration of births and deaths.
A further delay would warrant a mandatory self-declaration and close scrutiny of documents.
If there is a delay of more than a year, one has to obtain permission from either the District Magistrate or the Sub-Divisional Officer. For a delay of over two years, one has to seek permission from a magistrate. Authorisation of either an MBBS or an Ayush doctor of a hospital has been made mandatory for registering births and deaths.
The fees for registering both births and deaths have been hiked, the notification said.
The changes were part of several reforms initiated in the registration of births and deaths to arrest rising incidents of forgery and streamline transparency.
“The West Bengal government has introduced major changes to the rules governing the registration of births and deaths following a Cabinet decision. The revised regulations are aimed at preventing fake birth and death certificates, improving transparency, and strengthening the verification process for issuing official civil registration documents”, the notification read.
It has been made compulsory to write the names in full, and no abbreviations would be entertained. Both online and offline means would be available for registration and issuance of certificates.
Citizens would also have to write in detail the date and time of birth and death and the full addresses as well.