MAPUSA: The sub-registrar’s office at Mapusa is functioning under poor and abysmal conditions.

Not only do the people coming here for various certificates find it difficult to get proper certificates but the situation at the office is also quite bad. The office located at Morod is housed in a building having no proper infrastructure. For elders going to the office, there is no lift and these poor people are forced to climb many steps. There are no proper toilet and water facilities in the office.

Records are all in tattered and torn conditions and many a times ‘agents’ are seen flourishing in the office who take money and help people in getting their certificates and are also quite rude with people. Bad stink emanates from the toilets of neighbouring shops and this has been proving to be a irritating factor to the people coming to this office. Sub-registrar, Mr Shetye, when contacted, agreed that "many records are torn and tattered. Poor quality paper was used for records, especially between 1965 and 1970 and, therefore in absence of proper maintenance, proper binding and systematic storing, many these records are not properly available when required." He also felt that if the records were properly taken care of by the Department of Planning and Statistics, half of the misery of people coming to find certificates of birth, death etc would have been lessened.

It may be recalled that in one of the Assembly Sessions last year Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat had assured that besides the other sub-registrar offices in the state, the sub-registrar office at Mapusa would be computerised and this process would be complete by March 2010, however, the records at Mapusa sub-registrar office are yet to be computerised.

The staff, who are also handling various important records are working in a very miserable condition with no proper space inside and documents storing arrangement also being very poor. Many records have no proper index and no proper binding and this causes searching the documents a tedious process. Ironically, documents and birth and death records of Mapusa people maintained by the Mapusa municipality are in a much better condition and easier to obtain as they have been significantly computerized, but for the people from villages, who have to come to the sub-registrar’s office to obtain their records it is an agony of sorts.