West Bengal transfers birth and death registration to state officials
West Bengal just changed who handles birth and death certificates.
Now, district magistrates, nodal health department officers, and heads of state-run hospitals are in charge instead of local panchayat or municipal leaders.
The switch comes after officials noticed a lot of alleged irregularities during a recent voter roll revision, so the government wants to tighten things up.
Government to recheck certificates since 1997
District magistrates will now act as District Registrar of Births and Deaths under the state law, with power to appoint Block Medical Officers of Health (BMOH), rural and urban hospital superintendents, and medical college heads for handling registrations in hospitals.
Plus, there is a door-to-door recheck planned for all certificates issued since 1997 to weed out any fakes.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari says this move is about making things more transparent and efficient, while Samik Bhattacharya, president of BJP Bengal unit, said, "The government has taken a step in the right direction and has our backing."