Thiruvananthapuram: A central government employee in her late forties had to travel twice to Thiruvananthapuram corporation for a death certificate only because officials insisted that she attach a court fee stamp with it. Mary Lucy, like almost everyone visiting the corporation, had no idea that a stamp paper was not necessary for birth and death certificates. A government order issued by LSGD dated July 12, 2012, had approved a computer-generated certificate as a valid document for all official purposes.
Still local bodies insist on stamp paper. Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar says, “The rules say that stamp paper is necessary. Rather than printing it on a white paper, it makes it more authentic.” When told that many are told about the stamp paper being necessary only when they reach the main office, not at the zonal office which verifies the application, she said that it is mentioned in the application form.
Information Kerala Mission officials are perplexed that local bodies continue to do this. They say that probably they want to generate revenue for the government.
However even schools and other offices have been insisting that the certificate be printed on a stamp paper. A man, without revealing his name, told DC that during admission, school authorities refused to accept the computer-generated certificate of his daughter’s birth certificate. This is illegal, according to IKM officials.
