11,000 applicants wait for copies of birth certificates
Times of India | 30 July 2026
Kolkata: Sambit Ghosh, a resident of Amherst Street, wants a digital copy of the birth certificate for his son so that he can produce it at the local police station for his son’s passport. Though Ghosh has applied for the same through Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Chatbot, he is yet to receive a response from the civic body’s health department.
“It is an endless wait for a digital copy of the birth certificate that has been made a mandatory document for passport renewal. After two months, I was told last week to wait till a state govt portal is activated,” complained Ghosh.
Many like Ghosh are waiting to get copies of birth certificates or make corrections of errors that had crept into their certificates. Mohammed Afroz, a resident of Kidderpore, has applied for a digital certificate for his daughter through the Chatbot to produce it at his daughter’s school. “I have been waiting for two months and have now been asked to wait for another month,” said Afroz.
Around 11,000 applications seeking copies of birth certificates are pending as the state health department portal — Janma Mrityu Tathya — has remained non-functional for two-and-a-half months. Though the civic body-run Chatbot continues to receive birth/death-related applications, officials can’t process them due to the temporary closure of the portal.
According to a KMC health department official, KMC brass has been in touch with Swasthya Bhawan officials but there is no clarity on when the state birth/death registration portal will start functioning. “We are hopeful of a resumption of state portal service from next week. But we are not absolutely sure about it,” said the civic official.
Sources said further delay will only complicate the entire system. “If we are tasked to clear 200 pending applications a day, how long will it take to clear 11,000 certificates?” asked the KMC health department official.