Bengal govt notifies shifting of birth, death registration authority from local bodies to officials

Bengal Govt Notifies Shifting of Birth, Death Registration Authority

Theindiapostdaily.com – The West Bengal government on Friday officially notified the Bengal govt notifies shifting of birth and death registration authority from local elected bodies to designated government officials. This significant administrative reform transfers the responsibility of issuing birth and death certificates from gram panchayat pradhans and municipal body chairpersons to district magistrates, nodal health department officers, and heads of state-run hospitals.

The notification came just one day after Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal announced that elected representatives in rural and civic bodies would no longer hold the authority to issue birth and death certificates. According to Agarwal, this decision addresses widespread discrepancies in document issuance, with numerous irregularities surfacing during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the state.

Structural Reforms for Better Public Service Delivery

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari highlighted the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability through this reform. In a statement posted on X, the CM explained: “Our government is continuously working to make public administration more transparent, accountable and accessible for every citizen of West Bengal. To further improve public service delivery, we have introduced key structural reforms in the Registration of Births and Deaths across the State.”

“Dedicated government officers will now be appointed as Registrars for every Gram Panchayat and Municipality to streamline record-keeping and administrative workflows,” the CM said.

The notification, which invoked the West Bengal Births and Deaths Act, 1969, formally empowered district magistrates to function as the District Registrar of Births and Deaths. This centralised coordination at the district level ensures uniformity in the registration process. Additionally, DMs have been granted authority to appoint Block Medical Officers of Health, rural and urban hospital superintendents, and medical college heads to serve as registrars for all institutional births and deaths.

Beyond the immediate restructuring, the state government has announced a comprehensive re-verification exercise. All birth and death certificates registered since 1997 will undergo thorough verification. Officials will conduct door-to-door verification of existing records, and any certificate found to be fraudulent will be cancelled immediately. This proactive measure aims to eliminate discrepancies and strengthen the integrity of the registration system.

The political response to this reform has been largely positive. Samik Bhattacharya, president of the BJP Bengal unit, welcomed the decision, stating: “The BJP supports decentralisation of power of forms; political, economic or administrative. The government has taken a step in the right direction and has our backing.”

These progressive measures, as Adhikari noted, are designed to ensure better accuracy, efficiency and seamless service for the people of West Bengal. The shift from elected representatives to dedicated government officers represents a significant milestone in modernising the state’s civil registration infrastructure and enhancing public trust in official documentation.