Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) commissioner Smita Pandey on Monday directed health department officials to increase the number of counters issuing birth and death certificates after a surprise visit to the department, where she witnessed the problems faced by citizens.According to civic officials, Pandey, who is also the civic administrator, quietly joined a queue of people waiting to submit documents at the birth certificate counters on the ground floor of the KMC headquarters.The queues outside the counters have been growing longer, with hundreds of citizens waiting to submit birth-related documents. The process is meant to generate a mobile link through which applicants can download copies of birth certificates.A KMC source said Pandey stood in the queue for around 20 minutes and observed the functioning of the counters. After returning to her office, she called a meeting of health department officials and asked them to increase the number of counters. A health department source said the commissioner advised the department to speed up the certificate delivery system.The pressure on the system has increased, with more than 30,000 birth and death certificate applications pending with KMC. According to a source, the backlog of birth certificate applications has been rising because of repeated glitches in the state-run birth and death registration portal and the slow functioning of the KMC chatbot service. Citizens are required to apply through the chatbot to obtain digital copies of birth certificates, often needed urgently for school admissions or passport renewals.The state-run Janmo Mrityu Tathya portal and the KMC application chatbot have faced repeated malfunctions and suspensions. At times, applications have either been blocked entirely or restricted to a small quota of four to five applications a day during the early morning hours.Officials said a policy change that concentrated approval powers in the hands of a single designated municipal officer, instead of decentralised borough-level offices, has also slowed clearances.The delays come amid investigations into alleged irregularities in the issuance of birth certificates. Following complaints of mass distribution and irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision electoral roll exercise, Kolkata Police and state health authorities launched probes and raids, including at Borough 1, into alleged fake or non-genuine physical and digitised birth certificates.The delays and the urgent demand for documents for passport renewals, school admissions and other purposes have also created scope for unauthorised middlemen and fixer networks to exploit citizens and demand bribes.
