Issuance of birth, death certificates: KMC earns over Rs 50 lakh in 2022

kolkata: Besides its increased revenue from property tax, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has earned more than Rs 50 lakh in revenue from issuance of birth and death certificates last year. It has made the process of issuance of digital copies of the certificates simpler through the access of the Janma-Mrityu Tathya Portal of the State government.

According to officials of the civic body’s Health department, following the directive of the State Health Bureau of Intelligence (SHBI), KMC has already started using the Janma-Mrityu Tathya Portal (JMTP) of the government of West Bengal for issuance of birth and death certificates.

This newly-introduced system is user-friendly and has helped in issuance of digitally-signed certificates of birth and death.

A health official said that citizens are now getting digitally signed certificates of both birth and death with QR code (quick response code) in a PDF format which they can easily print on plain sheets as and when required. The beneficiaries can even verify the certificates by scanning the QR code through the JMTP portal.

It was pointed out that following the introduction of this portal the system of issuing manually signed copies in pre-printed papers at the cost of Rs 100 per copy has been discontinued. Concerning the number of digital birth and death certificates issues, Health department data stated that during May 5 to November 26, 2022 in all 53,010 digital birth certificates and 39,706 digital death certificates were issued through the JMTP.

The civic body has earned good revenue out of the issuance of these certificates.

As per data shared, revenues earned by issuing birth and death certificates were Rs 28,47,900 and Rs 23,40,400 respectively.

Citizens have often called Mayor Firhad Hakim during the Talk to Mayor session asking for birth certificates.

A resident of Ashoknagar had called Hakim on March 3, 2023, requesting him for assistance in obtaining the birth certificate of his father who died in 1978, the year of the Bengal flood.

His father reportedly died in the city’s SSKM Hospital and was cremated at the Keoratala crematorium.

The exact date, he mentioned, is May 10, 1978. The man said he was only six years old when he lost his father. His family, till date, has not been able to get the death certificate.