Panaji: Goa will soon offer quick registration and issuance of marriage certificates to couples holding their destination weddings in the state, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Sunday.He said it is hoped that the facility will prompt even more couples to host their destination weddings in Goa.“We have launched the anywhere marriage registration initiative. In the coming days, we will also begin issuing marriage registration certificates to couples hosting destination weddings in Goa, upon request. If certificates are issued efficiently and with full cooperation from all stakeholders, Goa will become an even more attractive destination wedding venue, as couples will benefit from faster marriage registration and certification,” said Sawant at registration day celebrations.He said that unlike earlier, when marriage registration was seen as important only in Goa, it is now considered an essential document across India.The CM said the software and physical infrastructure upgrades are being carried out in registration offices across Goa.“This department is our revenue earning department. Such revenue-earning departments, besides physical infrastructure, require software infrastructure upgrades. We are carrying out the upgrades presently. In many places, there are shortcomings in infrastructure; we are attending to it,” said Sawant.He said already new premises for the Bardez office have been selected.“We are acquiring new space for the Pernem office. In Bicholim housing board, new building space will be taken up for the registration office there. We have taken up space in agriculture department’s new premises in Valpoi. In Quepem, we have taken 2,000sqm space from water resources department where we will set up new office,” said Sawant.He said that the department has also started issuance of ‘anywhere nil encumbrance certificate’.“We have made changes in encumbrance certificate module. We have acquired land in North Goa for registration office. If we improve the working environment then the work by employees also improves. Birth and death registrations, society registration and NGO registration are also being streamlined,” said Sawant.BOXPre-marriage counselling soon in Goa to reduce divorce rates: Sawanttimes news networkPanaji: The failure to better understand one another before getting married in ‘love marriages’ is leading to higher divorce rates in Goa, said chief minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday, stating that pre-marriage counselling will be introduced soon across Goa.Former law minister Nilesh Cabral had similarly proposed pre-marriage counselling, but the plans were shelved after criticism.“We are setting up pre-marriage counselling everywhere in the state. It is the need of the hour. I am not going into percentages etc, but if you look at it, I feel love marriages are falling apart more. Mine is not a love marriage, mine is an arranged marriage. This is because the couples are not trying to understand facts about each other beforehand. We are facing these issues. That is why pre-marriage counselling is the need so that those getting married are able to understand each other well first,” said Sawant, adding that such counselling will help bring down divorce rates in Goa.He said that a new marriage certificate format is also being prepared which will have coloured photographs of the couple getting married.“At least looking at the photographs of one another will remind them to stay together,” said Sawant.
