Kolkata To Expand Birth, Death Certificate Services As SIR Nears End

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will expand its facilities for issuing birth and death certificates from next week, as West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll enters its final stage. The civic body says the move is aimed at helping residents who may need to produce these documents during upcoming hearings linked to the draft voters' list.

Mayor Firhad Hakim has directed KMC's chief municipal health officer to increase the daily quota of certificate applications processed through the civic body's chatbot from the current 150 to at least 500. He added that the number would eventually need to reach 1,000 a day to meet the expected surge in demand before SIR hearings begin.

To cope with the rise, KMC will also open two additional offline counters at its headquarters from Monday to issue certificates manually, alongside the existing online system.

Speaking to reporters, Hakim said the decision stemmed from recurring complaints from residents whose names have gone missing from the voter list despite long-term residence.

"Many times, it is seen that the names of those who were here in 2002 are not on the voter list. I don't know why. Many of them are asking for SIR in all their cases. We will make arrangements for birth certificates or death certificates during the SIR hearing. Apart from the online portals, we will also make arrangements to give these certificates manually," the Mayor said. 

The initiative has drawn strong criticism from the opposition BJP, which has alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-run civic bodies are exploiting the process to influence the electoral rolls.

"We've long had information that the TMC and its government, through corporations and numerous municipalities, are issuing thousands of fake, backdated birth certificates dated before 2002. A person with a birth certificate showing an earlier date should not be accepted as a voter. Their family documents should also be verified. Otherwise, thousands of people with backdated birth certificates could become voters here. TMC is doing this in a completely planned manner," BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said. 

The KMC has not responded to the allegations.