In a significant move aimed at reducing public hardship, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has announced a major simplification of its document issuance process. The civic body will now establish special counters at its borough offices specifically to assist senior citizens and physically challenged individuals.
Relief for Vulnerable Groups Ahead of SIR Hearings
The primary goal of this initiative is to provide relief to elderly and differently-abled residents who need to obtain crucial documents like birth or death certificates for upcoming SIR (Supplementary List of Inhabitants) hearings. Previously, these individuals had to travel long distances to the KMC headquarters at Town Hall to submit their applications, a process often fraught with difficulty.
Mayor Firhad Hakim stated that the decision was taken to spare these citizens from the trouble of visiting the central office. "We have decided to relieve senior citizens and physically infirm individuals from the trouble of visiting the KMC headquarters from different parts of the city," Hakim explained. The new system will allow them to submit documents for certificate copies or corrections at their local borough office itself.
Streamlined Process for Domicile Certificates
In a parallel step, the KMC is extending the same convenience for domicile certificate applications. Citizens wishing to apply for a domicile certificate can now also submit their necessary documents at the borough level, rather than making the trip to Town Hall. For both services, the submitted documents will be scanned at special help desks set up in the borough offices.
Following authentication, the certificates will be issued directly from the borough offices, eliminating the need for a second trip. A KMC official assured that the process would be smooth, stating, "We will try to ensure that the citizens are not harassed, and if the documents they provide are genuine, the issuance of certificates should be hassle-free."
Boosting Capacity to Tackle "SIR Panic"
Mayor Hakim clarified on Monday that the initiative is designed to help citizens overcome what he termed "SIR panic" by enabling them to equip themselves with the proper documents to prove their citizenship. Acknowledging the increased demand, the KMC health department has already taken steps to ramp up its processing capacity.
The daily quota for applications for birth and death certificates via the official KMC chatbot (8335999111) has been increased. Mayor Hakim has instructed the Chief Municipal Health Officer (CMHO), Ranita Sengupta, to ensure the civic body receives and processes at least 500 such applications daily.
"At this crucial hour of proving one's citizenship, the rush to get a genuine birth or death certificate is inevitable. We should stand by the citizens and bail them out from unnecessary SIR panic," Hakim emphasized, underscoring the administration's commitment to public support during this period.
This multi-pronged approach—decentralizing submission points and boosting back-end processing—aims to create a more accessible and efficient system for Kolkata's residents, particularly its most vulnerable, as they navigate official documentation requirements.
