Parents of children born in hospitals within the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limits will soon receive their child's birth certificate directly on WhatsApp. The civic body is introducing this new service linked to its chatbot number, 9445061913.
How the New System Works
GCC City Health Officer M Jagadeesan explained that previously, parents had to manually download birth certificates using the Namma Chennai app or from the GCC website. Under the new system, the PDF format of the birth certificate will be sent via WhatsApp to the mobile number registered by the parents. The service is expected to roll out within a week.
Currently, GCC issues around 300 birth certificates daily. Once this automated system is functional, the civic agency plans to extend similar services for death certificates as well.
Residents Call for Further Improvements
While welcoming the move, residents have urged the corporation to introduce a new digital portal for submitting corrections and omissions in names. K Sabarinathan from Kodambakkam zone pointed out that the current process is physical, requiring visits to divisional health offices or zonal offices to submit forms. Digitizing this process would save time and effort for citizens.
Residents also sought an upgrade of the Namma Chennai app, which has been facing glitches. Civic activist R Ramesh noted that the app previously offered all services but is now largely defunct. He said, "I am not able to raise a complaint, forget accessing services. It asks for mandatory location, but the GPS isn't tracking our house. It has to be upgraded." Ramesh emphasized that the corporation should make all services available on the app.
Future Plans
With the successful implementation of the birth certificate service, GCC aims to expand automated services to other areas, reducing the need for physical visits and enhancing efficiency for residents.
