Other States - Orissa   

Birth registration in slums a ‘non-starter’

CUTTACK: Notwithstanding the fact that concern is being expressed for protection of children’s rights, many little children in the State do not have “birth certificates”—their first legal document of life. Even as the Birth and Death Registration (RBD) Act-1969 has been in force for about 40 years now, the State has a poor track record in childbirth registration.

According to a survey conducted by Committee for Legal Aid to Poor (CLAP), a State-level NGO, about 90 per cent of children below five years do not have a birth certificate. The NGO has been expressing concern over the ‘unenthusiastic’ approach by the State Government over this important activity. The CLAP feels that childbirth registration, particularly in slum areas coming up adjacent to townships, is a non-starter.

Taking a strong note of it, the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) in a recent letter to the State Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths has asked to relocate the registration offices at prominent places. The RGI asked the State authorities to properly implement the provisions of RBD Act to improve the birth and death registrations in the State. The RGI directives has come in the wake of a request made in this regard by CLAP in February this year.

“Birth certificate is not only the first legal document of a child but it is a document of Right to identity, said the CLAP campaign coordinator Shaikh Quraish. Efforts are made by the NGO to make the poor and illiterate people of slum areas aware of the importance and benefits of birth registration of their children.

Mr. Quraish said during their visits to local registration offices, it had been invariably found that the registration offices were located in interior pockets without any proper signboards. “This deprives the parents of adequate information about registration of births of their children”, he said adding that the registration offices should be properly visible.

The CLAP has already identified about 250 recognized slums under the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and in the first phase at least 50 slums are selected for promoting universal civil registration campaign. Efforts are also made to include children themselves by organizing street plays, songs, music and dance to propagate the message and importance of birth registration.

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