KMC to help citizens trace old birth certs for SIR

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is set to arrange for special officers and additional manpower to assist citizens who require hard copies of birth certificates of their parents or grandparents for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing the media, Mayor Firhad Hakim on Friday said several people are approaching the civic body for such physical copies of birth certificates, which they need as citizenship proof for the electoral roll revision. He pointed out that while present-day birth certificates are digitized, those of parents and grandparents are mostly preserved only in hard-copy form.

Hakim said it is a herculean task to trace these physical certificates from KMC’s archival records. Hence, the civic body has decided to form a task force to help citizens.

“We will keep officers on special duty for the task. We will arrange for additional manpower. They will help citizens acquire the certificates when they approach the civic body headquarters,” he said.

When asked whether camps would be set up, Hakim clarified that the special team would function exclusively from the KMC headquarters since all such records are stored there and not at the borough level.

Several citizens are reportedly running from pillar to post to obtain the birth certificates of their parents and grandparents, one of the 13 vital documents required as proof of citizenship. In many cases, the documents are either unavailable or have been misplaced over the years due to shifting residence and other reasons.

Hakim said these documents will be especially required once hearings begin after the publication of the draft list on December 9.

“We do not want any legitimate voters to get excluded from the electoral rolls. The civic body will extend all necessary help,” he assured.