The Hindu 14.04.2013
Made in Chennai, downloaded worldwide
US-based NRIs form majority that obtain birth/death certificates from Corporation.
Non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the United States are the
most prolific when it comes to obtaining certificates for births/deaths
recorded in Chennai.
As many as 41,300 birth
certificates have been downloaded in the US, from the Chennai
Corporation’s website, since September 2008.
The
Corporation simplified the process of issuing birth and death
certificates in 2008 by enabling downloading of the documents free of
cost from any corner of the world. The number of death certificates
downloaded in the US is 8,350 during the same period.
The
number of NRIs availing the service has been increasing every year, an
official said. Singapore has downloaded the most number of birth
(14,000) and death (2,190) certificates among Asian countries.
The
European country with the most downloads is the United Kingdom. As many
as 6,820 NRIs in the UK have downloaded Chennai Corporation’s birth
certificates and 1,130 have downloaded death certificates. Among the
Gulf countries, a large number of persons from the United Arab Emirates
have downloaded birth (353) and death (52) certificates.
Births
and deaths have been registered, and certificates issued, in all zonal
offices by birth and death registrars since January 1991. Computerised
birth and death certificates too are issued in the zonal offices.
Those
born in the city between 1879 and 1990, however, can get these
documents issued only at Ripon Buildings. More than 1.1 lakh births and
about 39,000 deaths are registered in the Chennai Corporation every
year.
The civic body issues a copy of the birth or
death certificate free of cost if the event is registered within 21 days
of its occurrence. A late fee is collected from those who fail to
register before 21 days.
Beyond 30 days, the order of
the Corporation commissioner is required, in addition to the late fee,
for registration of birth. If it is delayed beyond a year, the birth is
registered based on orders from a judicial or metropolitan magistrate
alone.
In such cases, applicants have to spend more than Rs. 2,000 for a certificate because of the legal processes involved.
Efforts are underway to improve recording of births and deaths by creating awareness on timely registration among residents.
Birth and death certificates can be obtained fromhttp://www.chennaicorporation. gov.in/online-civic-services/ birthanddeath.htm.