Chennai: Parent's Aadhaar mandatory for online birth certificate

CHENNAI: Parents awaiting their children will soon be giving Aadhaar number to download their children’s birth certificates from Chennai corporation website, as the civic body is on the verge of following central government’s footprints in making Aadhaar ubiquitous. “To check forging of birth certificates, the corporation has decided to make parent’s Aadhaar number mandatory while downloading birth certificates,” a well-informed source in Chennai Corporation said. The source also said that the birth certificate issuance process in the corporation has been made simple. By using the intelligible process, some miscreants rig other people’s birth certificates.

It is also learnt that the Chennai corporation health department has already asked its electronic data processing cell (EDP cell) to include the Aadhaar tab in its portal. “The EDP cell is working on the feasibility of adding Aadhaar tab. The tab will be included soon,” added the source. In a time when Central government’s introducing of Aadhaar in an obtrusive way, Chennai corporation's decision is all set to draw resistance. But corporation officials stand firm in implementing and said the Chennai corporation would not ask for Aadhaar numbers of both parents while downloading certificates. Aadhaar number of the father or mother would be sufficient.

“Some forgers download others certificates with matching name and parents name. With the forged certificates, they are getting government schemes. With minimal manpower and enormous paper works, it takes more time to check the veracity of the certificates. Sometimes we miss to find possible gaffe,” said the official. However, an insider in the civic body privy to the development said that parents who download certificates before the implementation will be exempted. Presently, the gender of the child and date of birth are the details needed to download birth certificates.