Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The municipal corporation’s Right to Public Services (RTS) portal, which is used for issuing Birth and Death (B&D) certificates, has reportedly remained non-functional for the past 15 days, causing significant inconvenience to citizens. As the system requires online registration on the RTS portal before certificates can be issued, residents are being forced to make repeated visits to ward offices. However, officials at the ward offices are unable to provide any information on when the portal will be restored, leaving citizens frustrated.
Following government guidelines, the municipal corporation has made several procedures for obtaining B&D certificates more stringent. One such requirement includes submission of a property tax payment receipt. As a result, obtaining certificates has become more complicated for citizens. Meanwhile, cases of an illegal racket issuing fake birth certificates in the city have also come to light, prompting the civic body to take strict action.
For processing applications, citizens must first register on the municipal corporation’s RTS portal, after which the data is verified on the Central Government’s Civil Registration System (CRS) portal before issuing certificates. However, since May 1, the RTS portal has reportedly been non-operational, making further processing difficult.
Each ward office receives around 40 to 50 applications daily for B&D certificates. There are 10 ward offices in the city, with a separate arrangement for the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for such registrations. Although certificates are supposed to be issued within 15 days, citizens are reportedly waiting for one to two months. The issue was recently raised strongly by corporators during a standing committee meeting, and the closure of the portal has further intensified the problem.
Technical issue resolved
Municipal Officer of Health (MoH) Dr Paras Mandlecha said that he has recently reviewed the situation and confirmed that the RTS portal is now functioning. “ There were some technical issues earlier, which have since been resolved, and that the system is now operating smoothly,” said Dr Mandlecha.