The Belagavi City Corporation is launching a new doorstep delivery service for birth and death certificates through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Indian Postal Department.
Currently, citizens are required to visit the Corporation to apply for birth and death certificates. Under the new service, applicants can opt to have the certificate delivered directly to their homes once it is ready.
Corporation Commissioner Karthik M said citizens will have to pay the standard registration fee of ₹70 and fill out a consent form to avail of the doorstep delivery service. Once the certificate is ready, it will be delivered through the Postal Department, with ₹100 payable as cash on delivery.
The initiative will allow citizens to complete the application process at the Corporation and return home without having to repeatedly visit the office to check whether their certificate is ready.
The Corporation will publicise the service through banners outside its office, as well as through its website and social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Citizens have also been urged to share information about the service with others and make use of the facility.
I have both experienced and observed instances where individuals have waited more than a year to receive their certificates for a service that does not appear to require significant scrutiny. Many poor people were made to wait for many days, leaving their daily lives worsened.