In an attempt to curb fake registration of births and deaths by foreign nationals, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday amended the ‘Birth and Death Registration Act of 1969’ and ‘Maharashtra Birth and Death Registration Rules of 2000’ and issued a new notification.According to Maharashtra Revenue Minister and BJP MLA Chandrashekhar Bawankule, foreign nationals are taking undue advantage of loopholes in the government system to obtain birth and death registration certificates.He said that earlier there were no guidelines for the delay in registration of birth and death certificates in the state. “Foreign nationals by bribing the local officials and misusing the loopholes of the system, used to obtain the birth and death certificates to establish themselves as citizens of Maharashtra and India. However, as per new guidelines, one has to register for birth and death certificates within a year,” the minister said. “It will be verified by a three-level system. The Authorised Magistrate will ensure the accuracy of the information and charge a late fee, thereby fulfilling several legal requirements. All applications will undergo police verification, and final approval will be based on the police department’s report, and then the final certificate will be issued,” he added.”If the documents (evidence) attached by the applicant are found to be fake, immediate criminal action will be initiated. Besides, for the death registration, the post mortem report, copy of the FIR or any evidence given by competent authority should be submitted while for the birth certificate, the certificate issued by nursing home, if delivery took place at home, the woman who helped for delivery, her affidavit should be submitted to obtain the birth certificate,” the minister stated.
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