Times of India: Ahmedabad: Friday,
8 November 2024.
The civic body has issued a
public notification about the reconstruction of birth, death and marriage
records that were destroyed in a fire at the Gota ward office in 2015. The
fire, which occurred during the Patidar agitation, resulted in the loss of hundreds
of vital records, according to a police FIR, including birth and death
certificates, marriage certificates and town planning documents.
The notification issued in accordance with a 2012 notification by the state registrar for birth and death di- rects affected citizens and their legal heirs to submit applications and necessary evidence for the reconstruction of their records. This process will take place till Nov 20 at the registrar's office, births and deaths department, ground floor of Arogya Bhavan at Gita Mandir.
The destruction of the records came to light following an RTI petition filed by Kalupur resident Pankaj Bhatt in March 2017 and then in Jan 2019. Bhatt’s petition revealed that AMC did not issue a public notification to initiate the reconstruction process following the fire, as mandated by the 2012 govt notification.
“AMC did not issue a public notification to initiate the process of reconstruction of records. Also, residents of the ward had to be informed of the process,” said Bhatt.
According to the FIR lodged with the Gota police, at 9pm on Aug 25, 2015, a mob set fire to the records room of the ward office and in the ensuing fire, AMC lost freshly prepared 300 birth certificates, 100 death certificates and 200 marriage certi- ficates. “The numbers were higher. Besides, the office lost marriage registers between 2008 and 2014, death registers between 2008 and 2015,” said Bhatt.
Another issue that foxed AMC is that according to the 2012 govt notification for birth and death registry, the registers were to ideally be deposited with the civic body’s central office. “But Gota office continued to store the registers from 2008 onwards,” Bhatt said. He added, “The reconstruction process will likely be a long and arduous one, requiring residents to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims.”
The notification issued in accordance with a 2012 notification by the state registrar for birth and death di- rects affected citizens and their legal heirs to submit applications and necessary evidence for the reconstruction of their records. This process will take place till Nov 20 at the registrar's office, births and deaths department, ground floor of Arogya Bhavan at Gita Mandir.
The destruction of the records came to light following an RTI petition filed by Kalupur resident Pankaj Bhatt in March 2017 and then in Jan 2019. Bhatt’s petition revealed that AMC did not issue a public notification to initiate the reconstruction process following the fire, as mandated by the 2012 govt notification.
“AMC did not issue a public notification to initiate the process of reconstruction of records. Also, residents of the ward had to be informed of the process,” said Bhatt.
According to the FIR lodged with the Gota police, at 9pm on Aug 25, 2015, a mob set fire to the records room of the ward office and in the ensuing fire, AMC lost freshly prepared 300 birth certificates, 100 death certificates and 200 marriage certi- ficates. “The numbers were higher. Besides, the office lost marriage registers between 2008 and 2014, death registers between 2008 and 2015,” said Bhatt.
Another issue that foxed AMC is that according to the 2012 govt notification for birth and death registry, the registers were to ideally be deposited with the civic body’s central office. “But Gota office continued to store the registers from 2008 onwards,” Bhatt said. He added, “The reconstruction process will likely be a long and arduous one, requiring residents to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims.”
.JPG)
.JPG)
