the goan I network
MARGAO
Will the unending queue of citizens waiting to lay hands on birth documents or for correction of birth details at Margao Municipal Council be a thing of the past? With complaints galore from citizens that birth certificates are not made available at the click of a mouse given that the records are all computerized, newly-posted Margao Municipal Chief Officer, Ajit Panchwadkar has now promised to make available the birth documents within minutes.
In fact, the CO said that citizens need no longer make trips to the civic body to lay their hands on their birth certificates as he promised to make available the birth certificates within 15-20 minutes.
To achieve the objective, the MMC has deputed an additional hand in the births and death section of the municipality to cope with the growing requirements. The MMC Chief Officer admitted that the births and deaths section was hit by manpower constraints, but hastened to add that the issue now stands resolved.
“Now, any citizen can apply for a birth certificate and take the document within 15-20 minutes. Citizens need no longer wait for hours or return back the next day to collect the certificates,” he said.
On average, the MMC births and deaths section register around 450 new births and 120 deaths every month. That’s not all. The civic body received around 50-60 applications for correction in names, making issuing of birth and death certificates time consuming.
MMC chairperson Pooja Naik, who made her presence felt at the births and deaths section on Friday said she had accorded priority to the streamlining of this section after taking over the reigns of office a month ago.
“I received umpteen complaints that birth certificates were not available immediately. The issue was discussed with the CO who has now put a system in place to streamline functioning,” she added.
Apart from the delay in obtaining certificates, citizens have also criticised the functioning of the office as they face hardships in getting their certificates corrected. In fact, a woman from Valpoi told the media that she had visited the civic body around a month and half ago, but has now been told that her address is not proper.
“Why did the office not tell me of the details initially. I have been coming to Margao from Valpoi just to get the details in the birth document corrected,” she said, demanding streamlining of the office.
