Kolkata, 23 July (H.S.): The West Bengal government has announced a major overhaul of the birth and death registration system, removing the authority of municipal chairpersons and panchayat heads to issue birth and death certificates. From now on, only designated government officials will be authorised to issue these documents.

Chief Secretary Manoj Agrawal said the decision was taken after widespread irregularities and forged certificates were detected, particularly during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

Birth certificates are extremely important documents. Numerous complaints were received after the elections, and the SIR process exposed several fake certificates. Police have also received multiple complaints. Many people have availed benefits using fraudulent documents despite existing rules, the Chief Secretary said.

The state government has announced that all birth and death certificates issued since 1997 will be re-verified. A unified digital database will be created and integrated with the Centre's portal to ensure greater transparency and accuracy.

As part of the verification process, officials will conduct a door-to-door survey. Individuals without valid certificates will be given an opportunity to present their cases before fresh certificates are issued. Fake certificates will be cancelled, and the government will investigate those found using forged documents.

The Chief Secretary also stated that any official found involved in illegal activities during the verification process would face strict disciplinary action. He added that no contractual employees would be entrusted with the verification process and asserted that no illegal foreign national will be allowed to stay in the state.

Meanwhile, police on Thursday launched a statewide drive to investigate alleged irregularities in the issuance of birth and death certificates. Searches and inspections of birth and death registers are being carried out at municipal and panchayat offices, including in Kolkata and several districts, as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey