Elected rural and municipal representatives in Bengal now barred from issuing certificates
West Bengal has restricted birth and death certificate issuance to designated government officials and is preparing tighter controls on local-body finances.
- West Bengal has shifted issuance of birth and death certificates away from elected panchayat and municipal representatives to designated government officials.
- West Bengal police conducted raids on local-body offices across several districts, including Kolkata, as part of an investigation into fake or irregular certificates.
What happened
West Bengal has stopped elected panchayat and municipal representatives from issuing birth and death certificates. The state government says only designated government officials will issue these certificates after widespread irregularities were found during the previous regime.
Police raids on local-body offices across several districts, including Kolkata, formed part of the investigation into fake or irregular certificates. The state government is also preparing legislation to curb the financial powers of elected representatives in rural and urban local bodies.
Relevant for GS2: State government, decentralisation, local governance, and accountability in rural and urban local bodies, GS2: Public administration and measures to curb corruption in service delivery. West Bengal has barred elected panchayat and municipal representatives from issuing birth and death certificates after irregularities were flagged in local-body offices. The state says only designated government officials will issue these documents and is preparing legislation to reduce the financial powers of elected local representatives.
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