On Tuesday, M. Khan, 84, spent a lot of time on the premises of Ripon Buildings, going from official to official enquiring about the procedure for obtaining a birth certificate.
His passport shows his place of birth as Chennai. He speaks his parents’ language of Tamil, explaining to officials about his birth in Chennai in 1935, employment with a public sector bank and the death of his wife. He has records of his employment with the bank, ration card and Aadhaar.
But all these documents he carries do not count for the issuance of a birth certificate, according to existing statutory provisions.
He had to leave Ripon Buildings after a long day in search of land records of his ancestral home, which was sold to a builder for redevelopment.
He says he was worried about getting a birth certificate to prove his citizenship because of the recent amendments made by the government.
According to Corporation records, the number of residents visiting the office for birth certificates has increased nearly seven times after January 1.
“Every day, we used to receive 10 to 20 applications. The number has increased to 70 after January 1. Those seeking birth certificates belong to all religions,” said an official.
Going only by the names of the applicants for birth certificates in Chennai in January, 80% of the applicants are Muslims. The number of applications for birth certificates started gradually increasing after the announcement of Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens and the data shows a sudden rise in January 2020.
More than 60% of the city residents, who were born before 1990, do not have a birth certificate, it is estimated. The number of city residents without a certificate is expected to be over a million. “Most of the residents applying for birth certificate are elderly people. It is a worrying trend,” said an official.
Chennai Corporation officials said the birth certificate of such residents would be issued based on a “field enquiry” by the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO). The Corporation issues a non-availability certificate and the RDO has the powers to pass orders on the citizens’ place of birth. But the procedure takes three months. The process of verification also involves field verification by Revenue Inspectors of the District Administration, Sanitary Inspectors of the Corporation and the local police. With inadequate manpower in the Chennai District Administration, the process of issuance of birth certificate for all such residents may even take many years.
As most of the buildings that existed in 1935 in the city are already razed, it is not possible for the police to verify the place of birth, making the process more challenging, officials said.
