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| Getting marriage certificate is now matter of a day. Telegraph picture |
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 11: Just married and you can have a certificate to flaunt the very next day. For those tying the nuptial knot in the city, the week-long wait for marriage certificates is over. Thanks to the online application system, getting a marriage certificate from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now just a day’s affair.
Making use of the e-application system, at least 300 marriage certificates have been handed over to newly-weds in the last two months. Before the online system was introduced, it took almost a week or even more to get the certificates. Now, all one needs to do is to get married, apply online and drive away with a print out of the certificate the very next day.
Shrutikanta Dash, an information technology (IT) professional and Bhubaneswar resident, said: “The use of computer-based applications has changed governance at the BMC. Earlier, getting a marriage certificate was a time-consuming affair. For professionals like us it meant a waste of time. As we don’t get much leave from office, a week-long wait for the certificate made things difficult. However, the new system is welcome.”
“Nowadays it’s difficult to get long leave from office even to get married. Those who get married come on a short trip and return soon after the rituals are over. The certificate is also a must to get passport and visa. Keeping all these things in mind, the BMC worked on a faster delivery system of marriage certificates,’’ BMC deputy commissioner Priyadarshi Mohapatra said. Talking about the procedure, the deputy commissioner said the earlier process of manual application, certificate verification and appointment with the issuing authority consumed much time. But now applicants only need to apply online, generate a registration number and collect the marriage certificate from the BMC office the very next day.
“With people applying online, we are also saving time on typing out their names on the certificate. There is also less chance of committing spelling errors as the applicants are themselves filling in their names,’’ said a senior BMC official.
Brundaban Pati, another city-based professional and beneficiary of the new system, said: “The civic body should extend the online application system to other services. This would make the entire process faster and more effective.’’
The BMC has, however, launched a single window clearance (SWC) system for grievance redressal, collection of holding tax and trade licence and issuing birth and death certificates. Booking of community centres or kalyan mandaps and registering complaints for basic sanitation facilities can also be made online.
“It is seen that direct interaction of applicants and officials at times leads to corrupt practices. But through SWC we can minimise that probability and increase the efficiency of our employees. The system helps to cut down on time wasted in interacting with people who come to the BMC,’’ said a civic official. Earlier, the BMC had introduced biometric smart cards to counter distribution of various financial welfare schemes to those who posed as beneficiaries.