The Kolkata Municipal Corporation will begin accepting more applications for birth and death certificates from Monday, anticipating a surge in demand as residents prepare for upcoming voter list verification hearings.
Mayor Firhad Hakim announced the expansion on Friday, directing officials to increase daily slots from the current 150 to as many as 500 or 1,000. The decision comes ahead of hearings scheduled between December 9 and January 31, 2026, as part of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists.
During these hearings, electors whose names cannot be linked to any relatives in the 2002 voter list may be called for verification. Birth certificates are among the acceptable forms of identity proof, prompting many residents to seek copies of documents they’ve lost or never possessed.
How to apply
The Mayor’s directive came during his weekly phone-in programme, Talk to Mayor, after a caller complained about unsuccessful attempts to book a slot through the KMC Chatbot.
“The hearings for SIR are about to start, and people will look for birth and death certificates,” Hakim told KMC officials. “If needed, we have to depute employees from other departments. Open new counters.”
Residents can book slots through the KMC Chatbot at 8335999111, which schedules appointments seven days in advance. This means that even with the increased slots opening on Monday, applicants can only submit applications a week later.
While families of newborns or recently deceased individuals can download certificates directly from the Janma Mrityu Tathya portal, those needing older certificates or corrections must apply through the KMC.
Processing hurdles
When records match perfectly, the KMC can issue certificates within seven days. The documents are then digitised, uploaded to the portal, and applicants receive a text message with a download link.
However, complications arise when names don’t match records, contain spelling errors, or show different addresses. “We have to ask for more documents, and it may take longer than usual,” a KMC official said.
The bigger challenge lies in the corporation’s record-keeping system. KMC staff must manually search through large ledgers filled with old certificates and records. “We have just started to digitise the records, and it will take a lot of time to digitise the entire gamut of birth and death records,” the official added.
Officials acknowledged the staffing challenges but said they would work to meet the anticipated demand during this critical period.
