Local Government Minister Md Tazul Islam has vowed to take action against anyone who hassles people trying to register for their birth certificate or attempting to make amendments.
The minister pushed for the birth registration and certification process to be sped up, describing it as a ‘burning issue’ during a discussion at the Secretariat on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
"Clear instructions have been given to stop any harassment of birth certificate seekers," he said.
“We will not spare anyone who hassles people at any stage of the process,” he said. “Birth registration is a burning issue for us and we will of course take action against any such hindrance. We are working to make the process simpler and easier for the people so they do not have to face any unnecessary hardship.”
Asked about recent server issues in the process, Islam said that the problem was caused by the installation of new servers.
“I can’t say whether there are any complaints about the servers, but we have installed new ones. The system was shut down for that. UNICEF is providing financial and technical support. They are looking after it themselves.”
The minister said that there were countless errors in the entry of birth registration information and urged government workers to take more care.
“Numerous errors crop up during birth registration. But it is not right for us to blame the person who provided the information and label them uneducated. You (the official taking down the information) are educated. You have been appointed to help because the information provider does not have the know-how. You have committed yourself to the civil service, as I have. If I don’t perform my duty properly, I cannot avoid responsibility.”
Many people face difficulties because of simple errors on their birth certificates, Islam said.
“If I can free them from this trouble, then they can put their mind to their own work. Maybe they can’t start a job they were appointed to because of an error on their birth certificate. Sometimes these people get the run-around for a week or even 15 days. We must address this.”
