Unfortunately in Goa, a birth certificate copy from the registrar is ‘valid’ for only six months. Even if you get it attested, once the six month period is over, you need to get a new one.
Anyway, I had to get a copy of my birth certificate and I told by the concerned in-charge of unit at the registrar office that I could collect it on September 27.
But I was in for a rude shock, when I saw the ‘books’ that maintain the birth certificates, which applicants are allowed to see once an application is made.
What I saw made me swoon in utter disbelief. In the section, I saw only two staff members managing the whole show and going by the volume of people seeking their records, I assume it is just not enough, though they seemed quite reliable in their assigned duties.
What’s more, after collecting your ‘book’ you can sit at the tables or benches provided and go through the entire book until you find your certificate.
When I collected my ‘book’ to look for my certificate, I saw a lady going through one of the books given to her very recklessly and without concern for others’ certificates.
As you can imagine, the book itself was in a bad condition as the photos will reveal. Most of the pages were completely damaged and with the speed of which the careless woman was turning the pages, pieces of the paper were flying around and could be seen strewn on the ground all around her.
It is indeed very selfish to destroy somebody else’s documents and I casually asked to be careful and instead of realising her mistake, she angrily retorted “kiteack tukam podleam” (why do you care) . When I remonstrated to her again she replied insultingly, “None of your business.”
I then told her to collect all the pieces and put them back in the book, which she refused. Well, selfishness is a disease that is spreading fast and I did her job and collected the fallen pieces despite my 70+ years and kept them back in the book to the best of my ability.
I’m sure this is not this is not an unique case. Many people, who come for documents like birth certificate etc., may be equally selfish and nobody from the Civil Registration department is seen supervising or requesting them to take care. Perhaps this is due to the lack of adequate staff.
To take up this matter, I decided to meet the civil registrar to inform him about this particular incident and suggest some remedies. At the entrance there was a lady officer sitting in her cabin. She was kind enough to listen to my grievance and said that she also feels that there must be some system or else these books will surely be destroyed. She also told me that she will inform her superiors at the Secretariat.
In the meanwhile she said I could meet the civil registrar. To my dismay, the registrar was less welcoming and cooperative. Perhaps he was feeling defensive and helpless. He said that they were understaffed and many reminders sent by him to the government had not materialised.
He seems to be doing the work of only signing and the in-charge is sitting to the adjacent unit for this purpose. I told him that even if the government cannot help, I am ready to supply small plastic packets where these broken pieces from the book can be inserted and kept in the book after stapling. Since even the youth of today may one day need their ancestors’ certificates for passports etc.
I also informed him of what I have found out, in between my many visits here, that there were some unscrupulous people who tore pages and took them home for their selfish interests, possibly to create trouble for others – especially for their relatives who were not in good terms possibly due to property disputes and other personal grudges.
Like many, who I have discussed the issue with, I insist that supervision should be mandatory.
I would like to suggest the following:
A certificate once issued should remain valid and attested copies of the same should be considered. There should not be a demand for a fresh copy every six months or so, for the purpose of applying for a passport or any other purpose.
The older books which are used the most and are falling apart should be attended to on a priority basis. If a page is half destroyed they should carefully scan it into a database, take a copy and keep it in place of the original. Even one additional staff member appointed could make a huge difference if they are dedicated to the task.
Ideally some people with knowledge of Portuguese should be appointed for this purpose to help the public. They can also screen the applicants and appoint some reliable people on a volunteer basis.
If there is lack of staff they should at least get a scanner and keep it on the main table and as and when people come to get copies of their own birth certificates they can get that person to scan it right then and there into a data base. They should take adequate precautions to see that the person approaching the scanner has only the necessary page in his/her hands so that no negligence/malicious errors happen.
I wish more people would come forward to share such grievances, so that old birth certificates are not tattered and find their way to the dustbin.
Is someone listening?
