MARGAO
A new Chief Officer at the helm of Margao Municipality is in place, but the old issue of serpentine queues of applicants lining up for birth and death certificates in the corridors of the civic body is still awaiting a solution.
The promise made to issue birth certificates at the click of a mouse is still a far cry in the MMC, irrespective of the officials heading the civic body. Thanks to computerization, birth and death certificates were made available to the applications within minutes over a decade ago, but not any longer.
Applicants cannot hope to lay their hands on a birth or death certificate the very same day in the Margao Municipal Council, leaving citizens from Margao and outside to return back the next day, with the hope of getting their documents.
Officials manning the births and deaths section in private say the same office used to once issue birth and death documents within minutes after receiving the applications. They say times have changed with the office receiving hundreds of applications, around 300-400 on average per day, but the manpower requirements have not kept pace with the ground reality.
“There is no change in the staff strength in the births and deaths section even though the workload has increased. We have a Sub-Registrar, right in the section, but the official is required to attend the courts and other official matters almost every alternative day. Another senior officer, who is delegated the powers to sign documents, sits on the first floor of the building,” informed a municipal employee.
Sources in the know said that the births and deaths section is important as it generates revenue for the municipality. The revenue runs into Rs 3000-4000 on an average per day by way of levy of fees on issuing the documents.
Citizens standing in a queue said the MMC should streamline the issuance of birth and death certificates by issuing the documents at least within half-an-hour to an hour if not at a click of a mouse as was promised initially by the civic body.
Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes said he has put up a note to issue the birth documents within a week, but citizens are yet to obtain their certificates in a single day.
